Shloka 23
मावमंस्था: परान् राजन्नस्ति वीर्य नरे नरे । सम॑ तेजस्त्वया चैव विशिष्ट वा नरेश्वर,जहि त्वं सदृशेष्वेव मान॑ दर्प च मागध । मा गम: ससुतामात्य: सबलश्न यमक्षयम् मगधराज! तुम अपने समान वीरोंके साथ अभिमान और घमंड करना छोड़ दो। इस घमंडको रखकर अपने पुत्र, मन्त्री और सेनाके साथ यमलोकमें जानेकी तैयारी न करो
māvamaṃsthāḥ parān rājann asti vīryaṃ nare nare | samaṃ tejas tvayā caiva viśiṣṭo vā nareśvara | jahi tvaṃ sadṛśeṣv eva mānaṃ darpaṃ ca māgadha | mā gamaḥ sasutāmātyaḥ sabalaś ca yamākṣayam ||
Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: “O King, do not despise other men; in every man there is valor. Your splendor too is of the same kind—perhaps even distinguished, O lord of men. Therefore, O Māgadha, cast off pride and arrogance toward those who are your equals. Do not, clinging to such conceit, make ready to go to Yama’s imperishable realm together with your sons, ministers, and army.”
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler should not belittle others or inflate himself with pride; valor exists in every person. Arrogance toward equals invites ruin, so ethical kingship requires humility, discernment, and restraint.
In the Sabha Parva episode surrounding Jarāsandha, Śrī Kṛṣṇa addresses the Māgadha king directly, warning him to abandon pride and not to rush toward death along with his sons, ministers, and army—an admonition that foreshadows the peril of his confrontational stance.