देवैर्मनुष्यैर्गन्धर्वैरसुरैरुरगैश्व यः । न सोढुं समरे शक््यस्तं न बुद्धयसि केशवम्,“देवता, मनुष्य, गन्धर्व, असुर और नाग भी संग्रामभूमिमें जिनका वेग नहीं सह सकते, उन भगवान् श्रीकृष्णको तू नहीं जानता
devair manuṣyair gandharvair asurair uragaiś ca yaḥ | na soḍhuṃ samare śakyo taṃ na buddhyasi keśavam ||
वैशम्पायन म्हणाले— देव, मनुष्य, गंधर्व, असुर आणि नागही रणांगणात ज्यांचा वेग सहन करू शकत नाहीत, त्या केशवाला तू ओळखतच नाहीस.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
True judgment requires recognizing spiritual and ethical stature, not merely outward form. The verse warns that failing to understand Kṛṣṇa/Keśava—whose power even celestial and nether beings cannot withstand—leads to misguided choices against dharma.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war setting, the speaker emphasizes Kṛṣṇa’s overwhelming might and significance, rebuking someone’s inability to comprehend who Kṛṣṇa truly is—thereby highlighting the folly of underestimating him in the coming conflict.