Shloka 10
Jarāsandha–Vāsudeva Saṃvāda: Kṣātra-Dharma, Pride, and the Ethics of Coercion
Sabhā Parva, Adhyāya 20
यथा वदसि गोविन्द सर्व तदुपपद्यते | न हि त्वमग्रतस्तेषां येषां लक्ष्मी: पराड्मुखी,गोविन्द! आप जैसा कहते हैं, वह सब ठीक है। जिनकी राज्यलक्ष्मी विमुख हो चुकी है, उनके सम्मुख आप आते ही नहीं हैं
yathā vadasi govinda sarva tad upapadyate | na hi tvam agratas teṣāṁ yeṣāṁ lakṣmīḥ parāṅmukhī ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Wahai Govinda, sebagaimana engkau katakan, semuanya sungguh tepat. Sebab engkau tidak berdiri di hadapan mereka yang keberuntungan kerajaannya telah berpaling.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links divine association with rightful prosperity: when a ruler’s ‘Lakṣmī’ (legitimate royal fortune) has turned away due to decline in merit or dharma, the sustaining presence of Govinda does not remain before them. It implies that power without dharmic grounding loses auspicious support.
Yudhiṣṭhira responds to Govinda (Kṛṣṇa), affirming that Kṛṣṇa’s reasoning is coherent. He observes that Kṛṣṇa does not present himself before those whose sovereignty and fortune have already become adverse—hinting at a moral-spiritual diagnosis of political downfall.