Shloka 63
Samrāt-Lakṣaṇa and the Counsel to Check Jarāsandha (सम्राट्-लक्षणं जरासन्ध-प्रतिबाधा-परामर्शः)
तेन रुद्धा हि राजान: सर्वे जित्वा गिरिव्रजे । कन्दरे पर्वतेन्द्रस्य सिंहेनेव महाद्विपा:,उसने सब राजाओंको जीतकर गिरिव्रजमें इस प्रकार कैद कर रखा है, मानो सिंहने किसी महान् पर्वतकी गुफामें बड़े-बड़े गजराजोंको रोक रखा हो
tena ruddhā hi rājānaḥ sarve jitvā Girivraje | kandare parvatendrasya siṃheneva mahādvipāḥ ||
For he has conquered all those kings and kept them confined in Girivraja—just as a lion pens mighty elephants within the cavern of the lord of mountains. The image underscores the humiliation of subjugated rulers and the adharma of coercive domination that strips kings of freedom and dignity.
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical wrong of tyrannical conquest: true kṣatriya power should uphold dharma, not reduce fellow rulers to caged captives. The simile of a lion confining elephants stresses both the imbalance of force and the disgrace inflicted on the defeated.
Śrīkṛṣṇa describes how a powerful ruler has defeated many kings and is holding them imprisoned at Girivraja, likening their confinement to great elephants trapped in a mountain cave by a lion.