Shloka 16
विदुरस्य कृष्णं प्रति शमोपदेशः
Vidura’s Counsel to Krishna on the Limits of Peace
वैशम्पायन उवाच स एवमुक्तो गोविन्द: प्रत्युवाच महामना: । उद्यन्मेघस्वन: काले प्रगृह्म विपुलं भुजम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | sa evam ukto govindaḥ pratyuvāca mahāmanāḥ | udyanmeghasvanaḥ kāle pragṛhya vipulaṃ bhujam ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「そのように問われると、偉大なる魂をもつゴーヴィンダは答えた。そのとき彼は逞しい腕を高く掲げ、雨を孕む雲のように深く響く声で、ドゥルヨーダナに返答を始めた。そこには、揺るがず、明晰で、弱さを交えぬ訓戒の調べが定められていた。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Kṛṣṇa’s forthcoming reply as authoritative, composed, and ethically grounded: counsel to a ruler should be clear, reasoned, and free from cowardly pleading, aiming at dharma and the common good even when conflict is near.
After being questioned/approached, Kṛṣṇa (Govinda) prepares to respond to Duryodhana. The narrator highlights his commanding presence—raising his arm and speaking with thunder-like gravity—signaling a decisive, weighty answer in the tense pre-war negotiations.