Shloka 16
विदुरस्य कृष्णं प्रति शमोपदेशः
Vidura’s Counsel to Krishna on the Limits of Peace
वैशम्पायन उवाच स एवमुक्तो गोविन्द: प्रत्युवाच महामना: । उद्यन्मेघस्वन: काले प्रगृह्म विपुलं भुजम्,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्! इस प्रकार पूछे जानेपर उस समय महामनस्वी कमलनयन श्रीकृष्णने अपनी विशाल भुजा ऊपर उठाकर राजा दुर्योधनको सजल जलधरके समान गम्भीर वाणीमें उत्तर देना आरम्भ किया। उनका वह वचन परम उत्तम, युक्तिसंगत, दैन्य-रहित प्रत्येक अक्षरकी स्पष्टतासे सुशोभित तथा स्थान-श्रष्टता एवं संकीर्णता आदि दोषोंसे रहित था
vaiśampāyana uvāca | sa evam ukto govindaḥ pratyuvāca mahāmanāḥ | udyanmeghasvanaḥ kāle pragṛhya vipulaṃ bhujam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Thus addressed, Govinda—great-souled—replied. At that moment, raising his mighty arm, he began to answer Duryodhana in a voice deep and resonant like a rain-laden cloud, setting the tone for counsel meant to be firm, clear, and free from weakness.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Kṛṣṇa’s forthcoming reply as authoritative, composed, and ethically grounded: counsel to a ruler should be clear, reasoned, and free from cowardly pleading, aiming at dharma and the common good even when conflict is near.
After being questioned/approached, Kṛṣṇa (Govinda) prepares to respond to Duryodhana. The narrator highlights his commanding presence—raising his arm and speaking with thunder-like gravity—signaling a decisive, weighty answer in the tense pre-war negotiations.