Shloka 173
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
यदाश्रौष॑ माधवं वासुदेवं सर्वात्मना पाण्डवार्थे निविष्टम् । यस्थेमां गां विक्रममेकमाहु- स्तदा नाशंसे विजयाय संजय,(वामनावतारके समय) यह सम्पूर्ण पृथ्वी जिनके एक डगमें ही आ गयी बतायी जाती है, वे लक्ष्मीपति भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण पूरे हृदयसे पाण्डवोंकी कार्यसिद्धिके लिये तत्पर हैं, जब यह बात मैंने सुनी, संजय! तभीसे मुझे विजयकी आशा नहीं रही
yadāśrauṣa mādhavaṁ vāsudevaṁ sarvātmanā pāṇḍavārthe niviṣṭam | yasyemāṁ gāṁ vikramam ekam āhus tadā nāśaṁse vijayāya sañjaya | (vāmanāvatārake samaye)
When I heard that Mādhava Vāsudeva—who is said, in the Vāmana incarnation, to have encompassed this entire earth in a single stride—had committed himself with his whole being to the Pāṇḍavas’ cause, then, Sañjaya, from that moment I no longer held out hope for victory. The moral force of the narrative is clear: where divine support aligns with a righteous cause, mere power or strategy cannot secure an unjust triumph.
Educational Q&A
Victory is not merely a product of armies or tactics; when the divine (and thus dharma) stands firmly with a side, the opposing party’s hope of success collapses. The verse frames Kṛṣṇa’s wholehearted commitment as a decisive ethical and cosmic factor.
The speaker tells Sañjaya that upon hearing Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava Vāsudeva) has fully devoted himself to the Pāṇḍavas’ cause, he loses confidence in his own side’s victory. The reference to Vāmana’s world-stride underscores Kṛṣṇa’s supreme power and authority.