Shloka 3
Samrāt-Lakṣaṇa and the Counsel to Check Jarāsandha (सम्राट्-लक्षणं जरासन्ध-प्रतिबाधा-परामर्शः)
निदेशवाग्भिस्तत् ते ह विदितं भरतर्षभ,पृथ्वीपते! इन क्षत्रियोंने पूर्वजोंके कथनानुसार सामूहिकरूपसे यह नियम बना लिया है कि हममेंसे जो समस्त क्षत्रियोंको जीत लेगा, वही सम्राट् होगा। भरतश्रेष्ठ)ी यह बात आपको भी मालूम ही होगी
nideśavāgbhis tat te ha viditaṃ bharatarṣabha, pṛthvīpate! ime kṣatriyāḥ pūrvajānāṃ kathānusāreṇa sāmūhikarūpeṇa niyamaṃ kṛtvā niścayaṃ gatāḥ—asmāsu yo yaḥ sarvān kṣatriyān vijayiṣyati sa eva samrāḍ bhaviṣyati; bharataśreṣṭha, eṣā te ’pi vārtā viditāiva.
Wahai banteng di antara kaum Bhārata, wahai tuan bumi—hal ini telah pun engkau ketahui melalui titah dan pengisytiharan yang telah menjadi adat. Para kṣatriya ini, menurut teladan nenek moyang, telah bersama-sama menetapkan satu aturan: sesiapa antara kami yang menakluk semua kṣatriya, dialah sahaja yang menjadi maharaja. Wahai yang terbaik di antara Bhārata, engkau juga tentu maklum akan perkara ini.
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Legitimate sovereignty among kṣatriyas is presented as a matter of collectively accepted custom: the one who establishes undisputed supremacy by conquering rival rulers is recognized as samrāṭ. The emphasis is on public, precedent-backed legitimacy rather than private ambition.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa addresses a Bharata king/prince, reminding him of a well-known political convention among the kṣatriyas: they have agreed that the conqueror of all kṣatriyas becomes emperor. Kṛṣṇa frames the point as already familiar, grounding it in ancestral precedent.