Shloka 56

Samrāt-Lakṣaṇa and the Counsel to Check Jarāsandha (सम्राट्-लक्षणं जरासन्ध-प्रतिबाधा-परामर्शः)

Devanagari script

अष्टादश सहस्राणि क्रातृणां सन्ति नः कुले । आहुकस्य शतं पुत्रा एकैकस्त्रिदशावर:,हमारे कुलमें अठारह हजार भाई हैं। आहुकके सौ पुत्र हैं, जिनमेंसे एक-एक देवताओंके समान पराक्रमी हैं

Transliteration

aṣṭādaśa sahasrāṇi krātṝṇāṃ santi naḥ kule | āhukasya śataṃ putrā ekaikaḥ tridaśāvaraḥ ||

Translation

ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഞങ്ങളുടെ വംശത്തിൽ പതിനെട്ടായിരം ബന്ധുക്കൾ ഉണ്ട്. ആഹുകന് നൂറു പുത്രന്മാർ; അവരിൽ ഓരോരുത്തനും ദേവതാസമമായ പരാക്രമമുള്ള യോദ്ധാവാണ്.

Word by Word

अष्टादशeighteen

सहस्राणिthousands

क्रातॄणाम्of brothers/kinsmen

सन्तिare

नःour/of us

कुलेin the family

आहुकस्यof Ahuka

शतम्a hundred

पुत्राःsons

एकैकःeach one (individually)

त्रिदशावरःequal/superior to the gods (lit. surpassing the Thirty)

Speaker

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Aḥuka

Yādava lineage (implied by 'our family')

Tridaśa (the gods)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical and political weight of kinship: a ruler’s or leader’s decisions must account for the strength, unity, and responsibilities of one’s own clan, since familial bonds and collective power shape dharma in public life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kṛṣṇa is describing the numerical strength and martial prowess within his own lineage, highlighting that their family includes vast numbers of capable warriors—specifically noting Aḥuka’s hundred sons, each comparable in valor to the gods.