Shloka 56

Samrāt-Lakṣaṇa and the Counsel to Check Jarāsandha (सम्राट्-लक्षणं जरासन्ध-प्रतिबाधा-परामर्शः)

Devanagari script

अष्टादश सहस्राणि क्रातृणां सन्ति नः कुले । आहुकस्य शतं पुत्रा एकैकस्त्रिदशावर:,हमारे कुलमें अठारह हजार भाई हैं। आहुकके सौ पुत्र हैं, जिनमेंसे एक-एक देवताओंके समान पराक्रमी हैं

Transliteration

aṣṭādaśa sahasrāṇi krātṝṇāṃ santi naḥ kule | āhukasya śataṃ putrā ekaikaḥ tridaśāvaraḥ ||

Translation

Śrī Kṛṣṇa dijo: «En nuestro linaje hay dieciocho mil parientes. Aḥuka tiene cien hijos, y cada uno de ellos es un guerrero de proeza comparable a la de los dioses».

Word by Word

• अष्टादश: eighteen
• अष्टादश: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टादश
• Form: neuter, nominative, plural

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र
• Form: neuter, nominative, plural

• क्रातॄणाम्: of brothers/kinsmen
• क्रातॄणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रातृ
• Form: masculine, genitive, plural

• सन्ति: are
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: present, third, plural

• नः: our/of us
• नः: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: genitive, plural

• कुले: in the family
• कुले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• आहुकस्य: of Ahuka
• आहुकस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहुक
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• पुत्राः: sons
• पुत्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• एकैकः: each one (individually)
• एकैकः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकैक
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• त्रिदशावरः: equal/superior to the gods (lit. surpassing the Thirty)
• त्रिदशावरः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रिदशावर
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Kṛṣṇa
• Aḥuka
• Yādava lineage (implied by 'our family')
• Tridaśa (the gods)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical and political weight of kinship: a ruler’s or leader’s decisions must account for the strength, unity, and responsibilities of one’s own clan, since familial bonds and collective power shape dharma in public life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kṛṣṇa is describing the numerical strength and martial prowess within his own lineage, highlighting that their family includes vast numbers of capable warriors—specifically noting Aḥuka’s hundred sons, each comparable in valor to the gods.