Shloka 25

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

Devanagari script

उदीच्याश्व॒ तथा भोजा: कुलान्यष्टादश प्रभो | जरासंधभयादेव प्रतीचीं दिशमास्थिता:,प्रभो! इसी प्रकार उत्तर दिशामें निवास करनेवाले भोजवंशियोंके अठारह कुल जरासंधके ही भयसे भागकर पश्चिम दिशामें रहने लगे हैं

Transliteration

udīcyāś ca tathā bhojāḥ kulāny aṣṭādaśa prabho | jarāsandha-bhayād eva pratīcīṃ diśam āsthitāḥ |

Translation

प्रभो! त्याचप्रमाणे उत्तर दिशेत राहणाऱ्या भोजांच्या अठरा कुळांनी केवळ जरासंधाच्या भयामुळे पळ काढून पश्चिम दिशेत आश्रय घेतला आहे.

Word by Word

उदीच्याःnorthern (dwelling in the north)

चand

तथाlikewise

भोजाःthe Bhojas (people of Bhoja lineage)

कुलानिclans, families

अष्टादशeighteen

प्रभोO lord

जरासन्धfrom Jarāsandha

भयात्out of fear

एवindeed, just

प्रतीचीम्western

दिशम्direction

आस्थिताःhaving taken refuge in / having settled in

Speaker

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Jarāsandha

Bhojas

Northern direction (Udīcī diś)

Western direction (Pratīcī diś)

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?

Unchecked political power grounded in fear can uproot entire communities; a righteous ruler’s dharma includes providing protection so that people are not forced into exile by tyranny.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kṛṣṇa reports that eighteen Bhoja clans living in the north, terrified of Jarāsandha’s dominance, abandoned their homes and resettled in the west, illustrating Jarāsandha’s oppressive reach.