Shloka 3
Adhyāya 39: Śiśupāla’s Censure and Bhīma’s Contained Wrath (शिशुपाल-निन्दा तथा भीमक्रोध-निग्रहः)
सर्वेषां बलिनां मूर्थ्नि मयेदं निहितं पदम् । एवमुक्ते मया सम्यगुत्तरं प्रत्रवीतु सः,स एव हि मया वध्यो भविष्यति न संशय: । “राजाओ! केशी दैत्यका वध करनेवाले अनन्त-पराक्रमी भगवान् श्रीकृष्णकी मेरे द्वारा जो पूजा की गयी है, उसे आपलोगोंमेंसे जो सहन न कर सकें, उन सब बलवानोंके मस्तकपर मैंने यह पैर रख दिया। मैंने खूब सोच-समझकर यह बात कही है। जो इसका उत्तर देना चाहे, वह सामने आ जाय। मेरे द्वारा वह वधके योग्य होगा; इसमें संशय नहीं है
sarveṣāṃ balināṃ mūrdhni mayedaṃ nihitaṃ padam | evam ukte mayā samyag uttaraṃ prativaktum saḥ, sa eva hi mayā vadhyo bhaviṣyati na saṃśayaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “I have set this foot upon the heads of all those mighty men who cannot endure the worship I have offered to the infinitely valorous Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the slayer of the demon Keśin. I have spoken this after due consideration. Let whoever wishes to answer me come forward; for he alone will become fit to be slain by me—of this there is no doubt.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how devotion and honor can become flashpoints when mixed with arrogance: public humiliation and provocation invite violent escalation, showing the ethical danger of pride-driven challenges even when framed around reverence for a revered figure.
A speaker (as reported by Vaiśaṃpāyana) issues an open challenge to assembled powerful men/kings, declaring that those who cannot tolerate the worship he has offered to Kṛṣṇa are symbolically trampled; he calls for any respondent to step forward, asserting that such a challenger will be slain by him.