Shloka 25
दुर्योधनस्य बलिवर्णनम् — Duryodhana’s Description of Tribute at the Rājasūya
पश्य सात्वतमुख्येन शिशुपालो निपातित: । न च तत्र पुमानासीत् कश्चित् तस्य पदानुग:
paśya sātvata-mukhyena śiśupālo nipātitaḥ | na ca tatra pumān āsīt kaścit tasya padānugaḥ ||
Duryodhana dijo: «Mira: Śiśupāla fue abatido por el más excelso de los Sātvatas, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Y, sin embargo, allí no hubo un solo hombre que siguiera sus pasos: nadie dispuesto a tomar su causa ni a buscar represalia.»
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming authority and moral-political dominance can suppress even the normal code of retaliation: when Kṛṣṇa acts, opponents may lack the courage or legitimacy to respond, revealing the gap between boastful hostility and actual resolve.
In the royal assembly context, Duryodhana points to the earlier episode where Kṛṣṇa slew Śiśupāla, emphasizing that none of Śiśupāla’s supporters dared to avenge him—using this as a political observation (and warning) about Kṛṣṇa’s formidable influence.