Shloka 20
Uttanka’s Inquiry and Vāsudeva’s Adhyātma Exposition
Guṇa–Ritual–Immanence Teaching
उत्तडुक उवाच यस्माच्छक्तेन ते कृष्ण न त्राता: कुरुपुड्रवा: । सम्बन्धिन: प्रियास्तस्माच्छप्स्ये5हं त्वामसंशयम्
uttaṅka uvāca | yasmāc chaktena te kṛṣṇa na trātāḥ kurupuṅgavāḥ | sambandhinaḥ priyās tasmāc chapsye'haṃ tvām asaṃśayam ||
Uttaṅka berkata: “Wahai Kṛṣṇa, walaupun engkau berkuasa, engkau tidak melindungi kaum Kaurava, yang terkemuka dalam wangsa Kuru. Oleh sebab mereka itu kaum kerabatmu yang engkau kasihi, maka aku pasti akan menyumpahmu.”
उत्तडुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds moral accountability: possessing the capacity to prevent harm can be construed as a duty, especially toward one’s own kin. Uttaṅka frames Kṛṣṇa’s non-intervention as ethically blameworthy and invokes the traditional mechanism of a sage’s curse as a response to perceived adharma.
In the Aśvamedhika context after the great war, the sage Uttaṅka confronts Kṛṣṇa. He accuses Kṛṣṇa of failing to protect the leading Kuru figures despite having the power to do so, and declares his intention to curse Kṛṣṇa with certainty.