Shloka 17
Bhīṣma–Śiśupāla-saṃvādaḥ
Bhishma and Shishupala’s exchange in the assembly
असोौ मतिमतां श्रेष्ठी य एब जगत: प्रभु: । सम्भावयति चाप्येवं त्वद्वाक्याच्च जनार्दन: । एवमेतत् सर्वमिति तत् सर्व वितथं ध्रुवम्,तुम कहते हो--ये बुद्धिमानोंमें श्रेष्ठ हैं, ये ही सम्पूर्ण जगतके ईश्वर हैं” और तुम्हारे ही कहनेसे यह कृष्ण अपनेको ऐसा ही समझने भी लगा है। वह इन सभी बातोंको ज्यों-की त्यों ठीक मानता है; परंतु मेरी दृष्टिमें कृष्णके सम्बन्धमें तुम्हारे द्वारा जो कुछ कहा गया है, वह सब निश्चय ही झूठा है
asau matimatāṁ śreṣṭhī ya eba jagataḥ prabhuḥ | sambhāvayati cāpy evaṁ tvadvākyāc ca janārdanaḥ | evam etat sarvam iti tat sarvaṁ vitathaṁ dhruvam |
Śiśupāla said: “You claim, ‘He is the foremost among the wise; he is the Lord of the whole world.’ And, merely because you speak so, Janārdana (Kṛṣṇa) has even begun to accept himself in that way. He takes all these assertions as entirely true; but in my view, everything you have said about Kṛṣṇa is certainly false.”
शिशुपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical fault: rejecting genuine excellence out of envy and pride. Śiśupāla frames praise of Kṛṣṇa as mere flattery and self-delusion, illustrating how hostility can distort judgment and lead to adharma in speech (abusive, false accusation).
During the royal assembly context of the Rājasūya-related honors, Śiśupāla publicly challenges the acclaim given to Kṛṣṇa. He claims that others’ words have made Kṛṣṇa think himself ‘Lord of the world’ and declares those praises to be false.