Shloka 98
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
शिशुपालं वधिष्यामि यज्ञे धर्मसुतस्य वै । समागतेषु बलिषु पृथिव्यां सर्वराजसु,धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिरके यज्ञमें भूमण्डलके समस्त बलवान राजा पधारेंगे, उनके बीचमें मैं शिशुपालका वध कर डालूँगा
śiśupālaṃ vadhiṣyāmi yajñe dharmasutasya vai | samāgateṣu baliṣu pṛthivyāṃ sarvarājasu ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Au sacrifice de Dharmasuta (Yudhiṣṭhira), lorsque tous les rois de la terre—puissants et illustres—seront assemblés, je mettrai à mort Śiśupāla sous leurs yeux mêmes.»
(भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how acts of punishment or violence are framed within dharma and public legitimacy: a kṣatriya’s severe action is presented as tied to royal ritual, communal witness, and the maintenance of order among rulers, rather than as a merely personal act.
Bhīṣma declares that during Yudhiṣṭhira’s great sacrifice—when all powerful kings have gathered—Śiśupāla will be slain in that assembly, emphasizing the public and politically charged setting of the act.