Shloka 7

Samrāt-Lakṣaṇa and the Counsel to Check Jarāsandha (सम्राट्-लक्षणं जरासन्ध-प्रतिबाधा-परामर्शः)

Devanagari script

इदानीमेव वै राजन्‌ जरासंधो महीपति:

Transliteration

idānīm eva vai rājan jarāsandho mahīpatiḥ | rājan! abhī-abhī bhūpāla jarāsandhaḥ samasta-kṣatriya-kulānāṃ rāja-lakṣmīṃ lāṅghayitvā rājabhiḥ samrāṭ-pade 'bhiṣiktaḥ | sa ca sva-bala-parākramena sarvān ākrāmya sarveṣāṃ rājñāṃ śirasi sthita iva bhavati |

Translation

O King, just now Jarāsandha, the lord of the earth, has been consecrated by other kings to the rank of emperor, overstepping the royal fortune and precedence of all the Kṣatriya lineages. Relying on his own strength and prowess, he is pressing his power upon everyone and is becoming, as it were, the foremost among all rulers—an ascendant whose ambition threatens the balance of rightful kingship.

Word by Word

• इदानीम्: now
• इदानीम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इदानीम्
• Form: Avyaya

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव
• Form: Avyaya

• वै: indeed (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै
• Form: Avyaya

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• जरासन्धः: Jarasandha
• जरासन्धः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरासन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महीपतिः: lord of the earth/king
• महीपतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीपति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrīkṛṣṇa
• Jarāsandha
• Rājan (the addressed king, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira in context)
• Kṣatriya lineages
• Other kings (rājānaḥ)
• Samrāṭ (imperial status/office)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how sheer power and political endorsement can elevate a ruler to imperial status even when it disregards rightful precedence (rāja-lakṣmī) of other Kṣatriya houses—raising an ethical question about legitimacy, restraint, and the dharmic limits of ambition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kṛṣṇa informs the king that Jarāsandha has just been anointed as an emperor by other rulers and is now aggressively asserting dominance over all, positioning himself as the foremost among kings and thereby becoming a major political-military threat.