Shloka 3
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Inquiry and Sañjaya’s Etymologies of Kṛṣṇa’s Names
Puruṣottama-nāma-nirvacana
विद्यया तात जानामि त्रियुगं मधुसूदनम् । कर्तारमकृतं देवं भूतानां प्रभवाप्ययम्,तात! मैं ज्ञानदृष्टिसे ही प्राणियोंकी उत्पत्ति और विनाश करनेवाले त्रियुगस्वरूप भगवान् मधुसूदनको, जो सबके कर्ता हैं, परंतु किसीके कार्य नहीं हैं, जानता हूँ
vidyayā tāta jānāmi triyugaṁ madhusūdanam | kartāram akṛtaṁ devaṁ bhūtānāṁ prabhavāpyayam ||
Sanjaya said: “Dear one, through the eye of knowledge I recognize Madhusudana—the divine Lord of the three ages—who is the maker of all, yet Himself unmade and untouched by any other’s action; He is the source from whom beings arise and into whom they pass away.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms a theological insight: Krishna (Madhusudana) is the uncreated divine agent who stands as the ultimate source and end of all beings. True knowledge recognizes the Lord as creator without being a created product, grounding dharma in a cosmic, moral order beyond human politics.
Sanjaya, speaking to his listener (addressed as “tāta”), declares his recognition of Krishna’s divine nature. In the tense pre-war setting of the Udyoga Parva, this frames Krishna not merely as a diplomat but as the cosmic Lord whose presence shapes the ethical stakes of the coming conflict.