Shloka 9
Adhyāya 39: Śiśupāla’s Censure and Bhīma’s Contained Wrath (शिशुपाल-निन्दा तथा भीमक्रोध-निग्रहः)
कृष्णं कमलपत्राक्षं नार्चयिष्यन्ति ये नरा: । जीवन्मृतास्तु ते ज्ञेया न सम्भाष्या: कदाचन,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 “जो मानव कमलनयन भगवान् श्रीकृष्णकी पूजा नहीं करेंगे, वे जीते-जी ही मृतक- तुल्य समझे जायँगे। ऐसे लोगोंसे कभी बातचीत नहीं करनी चाहिये”
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
kṛṣṇaṁ kamalapatrākṣaṁ nārcayiṣyanti ye narāḥ |
jīvanmṛtāstu te jñeyā na sambhāṣyāḥ kadācana |
sa eva hi mayā vadhyo bhaviṣyati na saṁśayaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Those men who will not worship Kṛṣṇa, the lotus-eyed one, should be regarded as dead even while living; they are never to be conversed with. Indeed, whoever stands in such opposition will be slain by me—of this there is no doubt.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverence toward the worthy—here embodied in Kṛṣṇa—is treated as a moral litmus test: refusal to honor him marks a person as ethically and spiritually ‘dead,’ unfit for respectful dialogue, and liable to decisive opposition.
In the courtly setting of the Sabha Parva, a strong declaration is made (reported by Vaiśampāyana) that those who cannot accept or participate in honoring Kṛṣṇa are to be shunned, and any active challenger is threatened with punishment, underscoring escalating tension around Kṛṣṇa’s public veneration.