Mahabharata — Sabha Parva, Shloka 3
Adhyāya 45 — Duryodhana’s Distress, Śakuni’s Counsel, and the Summons for Dyūta
सह त्वया हि मे वध्या: सर्वथा कृष्ण पाण्डवा: | नृपतीन् समतिक्रम्य यैरराजा त्वमर्चित:
saha tvayā hi me vadhyāḥ sarvathā kṛṣṇa pāṇḍavāḥ | nṛpatīn samatikramya yair arājā tvam arcitaḥ ||
«Ô Kṛṣṇa, avec toi les Pāṇḍava aussi, à tous égards, méritent d’être mis à mort par moi ; car ce sont eux qui, bravant les rois assemblés, t’ont rendu un culte alors même que tu ne portais pas la royauté.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how wounded pride and attachment to status can distort ethical judgment: devotion and recognition of true worth (honoring Kṛṣṇa) are recast as a political insult. It warns that when hierarchy is treated as absolute dharma, hostility can be justified even against the righteous.
In the royal assembly, a hostile speaker addresses Kṛṣṇa and declares that the Pāṇḍavas deserve death along with him, because they honored Kṛṣṇa despite his not being a reigning king, thereby ‘disregarding’ the other kings present. The line expresses an accusation that the Pāṇḍavas violated royal protocol by elevating Kṛṣṇa.