Shloka 163
Śiśupāla’s Protest Against the Arghya to Kṛṣṇa (शिशुपाल-आक्षेपः)
वृष्णयो निखिलाश्चान्ये समाजम्मुर्महारथा: । भारत! पाण्डुनन्दन युधिष्ठिरके उस यज्ञमें रणदुर्मद महापराक्रमी राजा शिशुपाल भी अपने पुत्रके साथ आया था। इसके सिवा बलराम, अनिरुद्ध, कंक, सारण, गद, प्रद्युम्न, साम्ब, पराक्रमी चारुदेष्ण, उल्मुक, निशठ, वीर अंगावह तथा अन्य सभी वृष्णिवंशी महारथी उस यज्ञमें आये थे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | vṛṣṇayo nikhilāś cānye samājam ūru-mahārathāḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: All the Vṛṣṇis as well as other mighty chariot-warriors assembled there. O descendant of Bharata, to Yudhiṣṭhira’s sacrifice came the fiercely proud and highly valorous king Śiśupāla along with his son; besides him, Balarāma, Aniruddha, Kaṅka, Sāraṇa, Gada, Pradyumna, Sāmba, the powerful Cārudeṣṇa, Ulmuka, Niśaṭha, the heroic Aṅgāvaha, and many other Vṛṣṇi-line mahārathas also arrived. The gathering underscores the public, political, and moral weight of the royal rite: a sacrifice is not merely ritual, but a stage where alliances, rivalries, and questions of rightful honor (dharma) become visible before the whole world.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights that dharma in a royal context is publicly enacted: a yajña gathers allies and rivals alike, making questions of rightful honor, precedence, and conduct visible. Such assemblies test restraint, etiquette, and political wisdom as much as ritual correctness.
During Yudhiṣṭhira’s great sacrifice, prominent warriors arrive in large numbers. Śiśupāla comes with his son, and many leading Vṛṣṇi heroes (including Balarāma, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, and others) attend, setting the stage for later tensions around honor and recognition in the sacrificial hall.