Shloka 16

उद्योगपर्व (अध्याय १२९) — केशवस्य वैभवप्रदर्शनम् / Krishna’s Theophanic Display in the Kuru Assembly

Devanagari script

इमं हि पुण्डरीकाक्षं जिघृक्षन्त्यल्पचेतस:

Transliteration

imaṃ hi puṇḍarīkākṣaṃ jighṛkṣanty alpacetasaḥ

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “For these men of little understanding are truly seeking to seize this Lotus-eyed one—an act born of folly, for they do not grasp his real stature nor the grave moral peril of such aggression.”

Word by Word

• इमम्: this (one)
• इमम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• पुण्डरीकाक्षम्: the lotus-eyed one
• पुण्डरीकाक्षम्: Karma
• Type: Noun (epithet)
• Root: पुण्डरीकाक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• जिघृक्षन्ति: wish to seize/are trying to seize
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह्
• Form: Lat (Present), Parasmaipada, Third, Plural

• अल्पचेतसः: the small-minded/weak-witted (people)
• अल्पचेतसः: Karta
• Type: Adjective (used substantively)
• Root: अल्पचेतस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Puṇḍarīkākṣa (Kṛṣṇa/Viṣṇu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Moral blindness and arrogance lead people to attempt the unthinkable—harm against the righteous or the divinely protected. The verse highlights how limited understanding (alpacetasaḥ) drives unethical aggression and invites disastrous consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana comments that certain foolish persons are plotting to seize the “Lotus-eyed” Kṛṣṇa/Viṣṇu-like figure. The line frames their intention as a sign of ignorance, foreshadowing the danger of provoking a power they do not comprehend.