Shloka 91

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

Devanagari script

सुदर्शन चास्य रराज शौरे- स्तच्चक्रपगद्म॑ सुभुजोरुनालम्‌ । यथादिपद्म तरुणार्कवर्ण रराज नारायणनाभिजातम्‌

Transliteration

sudarśanaṃ cāsya rarāja śaureḥ tac cakrapadmaṃ subhujorunālam | yathādipadmaṃ taruṇārkavarṇaṃ rarāja nārāyaṇanābhijātam ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Sur Śauri (Kṛṣṇa), le Sudarśana étincelait : le disque semblait un lotus dont la tige, haute et robuste, était formée par ses beaux bras. Il brillait comme le lotus primordial né du nombril de Nārāyaṇa, rayonnant de la teinte du jeune soleil du matin.

Word by Word

• {'sudarśanam': 'Sudarśana

• Kṛṣṇa’s divine discus (also ‘of auspicious/clear vision’)', 'asya': 'of him, his', 'rarāja': 'shone, blazed forth (perfect of √rāj)', 'śaureḥ': 'of Śauri (Kṛṣṇa, descendant of Śūra)', 'tat': 'that', 'cakra': 'discus, wheel-weapon', 'padmam': 'lotus', 'subhuja': 'beautiful/strong arms', 'uru': 'great, lofty, broad', 'nālam': 'stalk (of a lotus)', 'yathā': 'as, like', 'ādipadma': 'primordial/first lotus', 'taruṇa': 'young, fresh (here: early)', 'arka': 'sun', 'varṇam': 'color, radiance, hue', 'nārāyaṇa': 'Nārāyaṇa (Viṣṇu)', 'nābhi': 'navel', 'jātam': 'born, arisen'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śauri (Śrī Kṛṣṇa)
• Sudarśana (discus)
• Nārāyaṇa
• ādipadma (primordial lotus)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents Kṛṣṇa’s weapon not as mere instrument of destruction but as a manifestation of divine order: martial power is legitimate when aligned with dharma, symbolized through sacred imagery (the primordial lotus and Nārāyaṇa).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Kṛṣṇa’s Sudarśana shining on the battlefield, likening it to a lotus with Kṛṣṇa’s arms as its stalk, and to the radiant primordial lotus said to arise from Nārāyaṇa’s navel.