Shloka 16
Dyūta-doṣa-prakāśana — Kṛṣṇa’s Critique of Gambling and the Exile Crisis
तमश्रौषमहं गत्वा यथावृत्त: स दुर्मति: । मयि कौरव्य दुष्टात्मा मार्तिकावतको नृप:,कुरुश्रेष्ठ! यहाँसे द्वारका जानेपर मैंने, मार्तिकावतक देशके निवासी दुष्टात्मा एवं दुर्बुद्धि राजा शाल्वने मेरे प्रति जो दुष्टतापूर्ण बर्ताव किया था (आक्षेपपूर्ण बातें कही थीं), वह सब कुछ सुना
tam aśrauṣam ahaṃ gatvā yathāvṛttaḥ sa durmatiḥ | mayi kauravya duṣṭātmā mārtikāvatako nṛpaḥ śālvaḥ kuruśreṣṭha ||
Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: “O best of the Kurus, after I went from here to Dvārakā, I heard in full what had occurred—how that wicked-souled, ill-minded king Śālva, the ruler from the land of Mārtikāvata, had behaved toward me with malice and spoke words of accusation.”
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical contrast: malicious intent and accusatory speech (duṣṭātmā, durmatiḥ) are condemned implicitly, while truthful reporting of events ‘as they occurred’ (yathāvṛttaḥ) is presented as the proper basis for judgment and response in matters of conflict.
Kṛṣṇa tells a Kuru prince that after returning to Dvārakā he learned the full account of King Śālva of Mārtikāvata—how Śālva acted with hostility toward Kṛṣṇa and spoke insulting or accusatory words, setting the stage for further tension.