Shloka 7
सख्यं च वासुदेवेन बाल्ये गाण्डीवधन्चन: । प्रजानामनुरागं च चिन्तयानो व्यदह्त,राजेन्द्र! वह भीमसेनका बल, अर्जुनकी फुर्ती, आपकी बुद्धि, नकुल और सहदेवकी विनय, गाण्डीवधारी अर्जुनकी श्रीकृष्णके साथ बचपनमें ही मित्रता तथा पाण्डवोंपर प्रजाका अनुराग देखकर चिन्तामग्न हो जलता रहता था
sakhyaṃ ca vāsudevena bālye gāṇḍīvadhanvanaḥ | prajānām anurāgaṃ ca cintayāno vyadahad rājendra ||
Nārada said: “O king, brooding over these things—the might of Bhīmasena, the swiftness of Arjuna, your own discerning intellect, the modesty of Nakula and Sahadeva, the childhood friendship of Gāṇḍīva-bearing Arjuna with Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), and the people’s deep affection for the Pāṇḍavas—he was consumed inwardly, burning with anxious envy.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how virtue, capability, strong alliances, and public goodwill create legitimate authority—yet these same strengths can provoke envy in rivals. Ethically, it warns that jealousy arises from comparing oneself to others’ excellence, and that a ruler should master such inner fires rather than be driven by them.
Nārada describes a person (in context, a rival of the Pāṇḍavas) who becomes inwardly tormented after reflecting on the Pāṇḍavas’ advantages: Bhīma’s power, Arjuna’s agility, the addressee-king’s intelligence, Nakula and Sahadeva’s humility, Arjuna’s early friendship with Kṛṣṇa, and the people’s affection for the Pāṇḍavas.