Shloka 20
Nara-Nārāyaṇa Precedent and Bhīṣma’s Counsel on Kṛṣṇa–Arjuna; Karṇa’s Reply
अजेयौ मानुषे लोके सेन्द्रैरपि सुरासुरै: । एष नारायण: कृष्ण: फाल्गुनश्न नर: स्मृत: । नारायणो नरश्वैव सत्त्वमेकं द्विधा कृतम्,इस मनुष्यलोकमें इन्हें इन्द्रसहित सम्पूर्ण देवता और असुर भी नहीं जीत सकते। ये श्रीकृष्ण नारायण हैं और अर्जुन नर माने गये हैं। नारायण और नर दोनों एक ही सत्ता हैं, परंतु लोकहितके लिये दो शरीर धारण करके प्रकट हुए हैं
ajeyau mānuṣe loke sendrair api surāsuraiḥ | eṣa nārāyaṇaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ phālgunaś ca naraḥ smṛtaḥ | nārāyaṇo naraś caiva sattvam ekaṃ dvidhā kṛtam |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “In the human world, even all the gods and asuras together—Indra included—cannot conquer these two. Kṛṣṇa is known as Nārāyaṇa, and Phālguna (Arjuna) is remembered as Nara. Nārāyaṇa and Nara are in truth a single divine reality, appearing in two forms for the welfare of the world.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the unity of the divine and the ideal human: Kṛṣṇa as Nārāyaṇa and Arjuna as Nara are one essential reality manifested in two forms for loka-hita (the welfare of the world). Ethically, it frames righteous action as supported by divine purpose and emphasizes that true strength is grounded in dharma and divine alignment.
In the Udyoga Parva’s lead-up to war, Vaiśaṃpāyana identifies Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna as the Nara-Nārāyaṇa pair and declares them unconquerable—even by gods and asuras—thereby elevating their alliance and signaling that the coming conflict is underwritten by a larger cosmic design.