Shloka 25
Chapter 15: Counsel on Initiative vs. Renunciation in the Rajasuya Project (सभापर्व, अध्याय १५)
प्राप्तुयात् स यशो दीप्तं तत्र यो विघ्नमाचरेत् । जयेद् यश्व॒ जरासंधं स सम्राण्नियतं भवेत्
prāpnuyāt sa yaśo dīptaṃ tatra yo vighnam ācaret | jayed yaś ca jarāsandhaṃ sa samrāṇ niyataṃ bhavet ||
Kṛṣṇa said: “Whoever creates an obstacle in this undertaking will gain shining fame thereby; and whoever conquers Jarāsandha will, without doubt, become the emperor.”
कृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kṛṣṇa highlights how public action in the political sphere inevitably generates fame: even those who oppose a great undertaking become known, but true sovereignty is secured by removing the central source of oppression—here, Jarāsandha—thereby establishing legitimate paramountcy.
In the Sabha Parva setting, Kṛṣṇa is advising about a major royal enterprise tied to imperial status; he points to Jarāsandha as the decisive obstacle and declares that defeating him is the sure path to becoming samrāṭ (emperor).