Shloka 5

Jarāsandha-prastāvaḥ — Nīti-cintā ca Jarāsandhasya janma-vṛttāntaḥ

The Jarāsandha Prelude: Strategic Counsel and Birth Account

Devanagari script

यथाहं विमृशाम्येकस्तत्‌ तावच्छुयतां मम । संन्यासं रोचये साधु कार्यस्यास्य जनार्दन | प्रतिहन्ति मनो मे5द्य राजसूयो दुराहर:

Transliteration

yathāhaṁ vimṛśāmy ekas tat tāvac chruyatāṁ mama | saṁnyāsaṁ rocaye sādhu kāryasyāsya janārdana || pratihanti mano me ’dya rājasūyo durāharaḥ, janārdana ||

Translation

ユディシュティラは言った。「ヤナールダナよ、この件を我ひとり思案して得た考えを、ここまで聞いてほしい。われはこの企てを捨てるのがよいと思う。ラージャスーヤ祭は成就きわめて難しく、今日それが我が決意を押しとどめ、心にためらいを満たしている。」

Word by Word

• {'yathā': 'as, in the manner that', 'aham': 'I', 'vimṛśāmi': 'I deliberate, reflect, consider carefully', 'ekaḥ': 'alone, by myself', 'tat tāvat': 'so much, to that extent (for now)', 'śruyatām': 'let it be heard

• please listen (imperative/passive)', 'mama': 'of me, my', 'saṁnyāsam': 'renunciation

• laying aside, giving up', 'rocaye': 'I approve, I find pleasing/right, I prefer', 'sādhu': 'good, proper, commendable', 'kāryasya': 'of the task/undertaking', 'asya': 'of this', 'janārdana': 'Janārdana (epithet of Kṛṣṇa: ‘stirrer/chastiser of men’)', 'pratihanti': 'strikes back, obstructs, checks, restrains', 'manaḥ': 'mind, intention, resolve', 'me': 'my (to me)', 'adya': 'today, now', 'rājasūyaḥ': 'the Rājasūya (royal consecration sacrifice asserting sovereignty)', 'durāharaḥ': 'hard to undertake/perform

Speaker

युधिषछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Janārdana (Kṛṣṇa)
• Rājasūya (sacrifice)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a righteous king must scrutinize ambition: grand rituals that signal sovereignty can entangle one in difficulty and ethical risk. Yudhiṣṭhira’s impulse toward saṁnyāsa here highlights restraint, humility, and the need for wise counsel before pursuing power-affirming acts.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the context of planning the Rājasūya, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks to Kṛṣṇa (Janārdana), confessing that after reflecting alone he feels discouraged. He says renouncing the project seems better because the Rājasūya is extremely hard to accomplish and is presently obstructing his resolve.