Shloka 366

उत्पातदर्शनम् — Portents and Kāla among the Vṛṣṇis

Devanagari script

जघान कृष्णस्तांस्तेन ये ये प्रमुखतो 5 भवन्‌ । उनके हाथमें आते ही वह घास वज्रके समान भयंकर लोहेका मूसल बन गयी। फिर तो जो-जो सामने आये उन सबको श्रीकृष्णने उसीसे मार गिराया

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Jaghāna Kṛṣṇas tāṁs tena ye ye pramukhato 'bhavan.

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dijo: Con esa misma arma, Kṛṣṇa abatió a todos los que avanzaron contra él. La hierba que llegó a sus manos se había vuelto una pavorosa maza de hierro (musala), dura como un rayo; y a quienquiera que se acercaba de frente, Kṛṣṇa lo derribaba con ella: un siniestro despliegue del destino, pues la violencia, una vez desatada, devora incluso a los suyos.

Word by Word

जघानkilled, struck down

कृष्णःKrishna

तान्them

तेनwith that (weapon/club)

येwho (those who)

येwhoever (repeated for emphasis: each and every)

प्रमुखतःin front, from the front, foremost

भवन्being, coming to be (i.e., those who were in front)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kṛṣṇa

mūsala (iron club)

grass (turned into a weapon)

vajra (thunderbolt, as a simile)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage underscores the inexorable working of destiny and karma: when adharma and intoxicated violence take hold, even the mighty cannot prevent self-destruction. Power and kinship do not shield one from the consequences of collective wrongdoing; the very means at hand can become instruments of ruin.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the catastrophic brawl among the Yādavas, the grass in their hands becomes iron clubs (mūsala) as foretold. Kṛṣṇa, facing those who rush at him from the front, strikes them down with that same weapon, as the clan’s end unfolds.