Shloka 102

Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava

Devanagari script

अवस्थितं च प्रणिपत्य कृष्णं प्रीतो$र्जुन: काउ्चनचित्रमाली । उवाच कोपं प्रतिसंहरेति गतिर्भवान्‌ केशव पाण्डवानाम्‌

Transliteration

avasthitaṃ ca praṇipatya kṛṣṇaṃ prīto 'rjunaḥ kāñcanacitrāmālī | uvāca kopaṃ pratisaṃhareti gatir bhavān keśava pāṇḍavānām ||

Translation

Lorsque Kṛṣṇa se fut relevé et tint ferme, Arjuna—portant une splendide guirlande d’or, richement ouvragée—se prosterna avec joie à ses pieds et dit : «Keśava, retiens ta colère. Seigneur, tu es le refuge même et la voie sûre des Pāṇḍavas.»

Word by Word

• {'avasthitam': 'standing, stationed, having taken position', 'praṇipatya': 'having bowed down, having prostrated', 'kṛṣṇam': 'Kṛṣṇa (addressed as the revered guide and ally)', 'prītaḥ': 'pleased, delighted, full of joy', 'arjunaḥ': 'Arjuna (Pāṇḍava hero)', 'kāñcana': 'golden', 'citra-mālī': 'wearing a variegated/splendid garland', 'uvāca': 'said, spoke', 'kopaṃ': 'anger, wrath', 'pratisaṃhara': 'withdraw, restrain, rein in', 'iti': 'thus', 'gatiḥ': 'refuge, course, ultimate recourse/support', 'bhavān': 'you (honorific)', 'keśava': 'Keśava (epithet of Kṛṣṇa)', 'pāṇḍavānām': 'of the Pāṇḍavas'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kṛṣṇa
• Arjuna
• Pāṇḍavas
• golden garland (kāñcanacitrāmālā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in a righteous war, anger must be restrained; power and action should remain under the governance of dharma. Arjuna’s reverent plea highlights self-control as an ethical necessity and recognizes Kṛṣṇa as the stabilizing refuge for right conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that as Kṛṣṇa stands up, Arjuna—joyful and adorned with a golden garland—prostrates and urges Kṛṣṇa to withdraw his anger, affirming that Kṛṣṇa is the Pāṇḍavas’ ultimate support and guiding recourse.