Shloka 24
सभा पर्व, अध्याय ३७ — युधिष्ठिरस्य भीष्मोपदेशः
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Consultation and Bhīṣma’s Counsel in the Assembly
अद्य धर्मात्मता चैव व्यपकृष्टा युधिष्ठिरात् । दर्शितं कृपणत्वं च कृष्णे<र्घ्यस्य निवेदनात्
adya dharmātmatā caiva vyapakṛṣṭā yudhiṣṭhirāt | darśitaṁ kṛpaṇatvaṁ ca kṛṣṇe 'rghyasya nivedanāt ||
Śiśupāla declaró: «Hoy la celebrada rectitud de Yudhiṣṭhira se ha apartado de él; pues al ofrecer el arghya a Kṛṣṇa, según mi lectura hostil, no ha mostrado valor moral, sino una debilidad miserable: elevar públicamente a un solo hombre por encima de todos los reyes reunidos e invitar así al rencor y al conflicto.»
शिशुपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how dharma and public honor can be contested in political settings: a righteous act (honoring Kṛṣṇa) is rhetorically reframed by an opponent as weakness. It shows how ethical language can be weaponized to challenge legitimacy and provoke conflict.
During Yudhiṣṭhira’s grand assembly (in the Rājasūya setting), Kṛṣṇa is offered the foremost honor (arghya). Śiśupāla, hostile to Kṛṣṇa, denounces this choice and attacks Yudhiṣṭhira’s reputation for righteousness, calling the act a display of cowardly abasement.