Shloka 20
Chapter 15: Counsel on Initiative vs. Renunciation in the Rajasuya Project (सभापर्व, अध्याय १५)
मूर्थाभिषिक्त नृपतिं प्रधानपुरुषो बलात् | आदत्ते न च नो दृष्टो5 भाग: पुरुषत: क्वचित्
mūrdhābhiṣiktaṁ nṛpatiṁ pradhāna-puruṣo balāt | ādatte na ca no dṛṣṭo bhāgaḥ puruṣataḥ kvacit ||
Kṛṣṇa said: “Assuming the role of a ‘chief man’ (a self-styled paramount), he forcibly seizes even kings who have been duly consecrated. Indeed, among such anointed rulers we have not seen a single one anywhere from whom he has not exacted a ‘share’—reducing him to a captive and treating him as tribute.”
कृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Legitimate kingship rests on lawful consecration and righteous conduct; a self-appointed overlord who uses force to seize anointed rulers and extract ‘shares’ (tribute through captivity) violates dharma and undermines political legitimacy.
Kṛṣṇa describes a powerful figure who, acting as a paramount ruler, forcibly subjugates consecrated kings—taking them as captives and compelling tribute—highlighting the pattern of coercive domination rather than lawful sovereignty.