Shloka 43
Śoka-śamana: Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation and Nārada’s Exempla to Sṛñjaya
Chapter 29
न भूतं न भविष्यं च सर्वराजसु सूंजय । अन्यत्रौशीनराच्छैब्याद् राजर्षेरिन्द्रविक्रमात्
na bhūtaṃ na bhaviṣyaṃ ca sarvarājasu sūṃjaya | anyatra auśīnarāc chaibyād rājarṣer indravi kramāt ||
वायु ने कहा— “हे सूंजय! समस्त राजाओं में न भूतकाल में कोई हुआ है, न भविष्य में कोई होगा—औशीनर, शैब्य, इन्द्र-तुल्य पराक्रमी राजर्षि राजा शिबि के सिवा—जो उस भार को सचमुच वहन कर सके।”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates King Śibi as an unmatched model of rājadharma: true kingship is measured not merely by power but by the capacity to shoulder extraordinary moral responsibility and self-sacrificial duty for the sake of righteousness.
Vāyu addresses Sūṃjaya and declares that among all kings across time, only King Śibi—renowned as Auśīnara/Śaibya and described as a rājarṣi with Indra-like prowess—was fit to bear the exceptional burden being discussed, thereby setting Śibi up as the supreme ethical exemplar.