Shloka 40
Samrāt-Lakṣaṇa and the Counsel to Check Jarāsandha (सम्राट्-लक्षणं जरासन्ध-प्रतिबाधा-परामर्शः)
अथ हंस इति ख्यात: कश्चिदासीन्महान् नृप: । रामेण स हतस्तत्र संग्रामेडष्टादशावरे
atha haṃsa iti khyātaḥ kaścid āsīn mahān nṛpaḥ | rāmeṇa sa hataḥ tatra saṅgrāme ’ṣṭādaśāvare ||
Puis il y eut un grand roi, renommé sous le nom de Haṃsa. Dans cette même bataille — lors de la dix-huitième fois — il fut tué par Rāma (Balarāma) sur le champ de guerre.
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the destructive inevitability of repeated, pride-driven conflict: even great kings fall when war becomes a cycle of rivalry rather than a disciplined pursuit of righteous duty.
Śrīkṛṣṇa recounts that a renowned king named Haṃsa joined the fighting and, in that same engagement—described as the eighteenth occasion—was slain by Rāma, i.e., Balarāma.