Shloka 15
वंशवर्णनम्, अनिरुद्धविवाहः, तथा बलराम-रुक्मी द्यूतविवादः
ततो जहास स्वनवत् कलिङ्गाधिपतिर् द्विज दन्तान् विदर्शयन् मूढो रुक्मी चाह मदोद्धतः
tato jahāsa svanavat kaliṅgādhipatir dvija dantān vidarśayan mūḍho rukmī cāha madoddhataḥ
Then, O brāhmaṇa, the lord of Kaliṅga burst into loud laughter, baring his teeth; and the deluded Rukmī too spoke, his mind unsteady with the intoxication of pride.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Vishnu Form: Krishna
FAQs
This verse frames pride as a visible, destabilizing force—arrogant laughter and taunting speech—signaling a lapse in rājadharma that typically precipitates conflict and decline.
By highlighting outward markers of delusion—boisterous laughter, baring teeth, and madoddhata speech—Parāśara narratively judges the king’s inner disorder, implying that true sovereignty must align with dharma.
Even when not named in the verse, the Purāṇic history assumes Vishnu as the ground of cosmic order; rulers who act from mada oppose that order and thus move toward consequences that reassert dharma under Vishnu’s supreme governance.