Shloka 25
Adhyāya 45 — Duryodhana’s Distress, Śakuni’s Counsel, and the Summons for Dyūta
एवमुक्त्वा यदुश्रेष्ठेक्षेदिराजस्य तत्क्षणात् । व्यपाहरच्छिर: क्रुद्धश्षक्रेणामित्रकर्षण:,ऐसा कहकर कुपित हुए शत्रुहन्ता यदुकुलतिलक भगवान् श्रीकृष्णने चक्रसे उसी क्षण चेदिराज शिशुपालका सिर उड़ा दिया
evaṃ uktvā yaduśreṣṭhaḥ cedirājasya tatkṣaṇāt | vyapāharac chiraḥ kruddhaḥ cakreṇāmitrakarṣaṇaḥ ||
Ayant ainsi parlé, Kṛṣṇa—le plus éminent des Yadus, dompteur des ennemis—s’enflamma de colère et, à l’instant même, trancha d’un coup de disque la tête de Śiśupāla, roi de Cedi.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma includes restraint and forbearance, but it also requires decisive protection of moral and social order when persistent wrongdoing becomes intolerable. The verse frames punishment as a duty executed at the proper limit, not as mere personal vengeance.
After speaking (in the surrounding context, following Shishupala’s repeated insults during the royal rite), Krishna immediately uses his discus to sever Shishupala’s head, ending the disruption and asserting dharmic authority in the assembly.