Shloka 24

Chapter 15: Counsel on Initiative vs. Renunciation in the Rajasuya Project (सभापर्व, अध्याय १५)

Devanagari script

षडशीति: समानीता: शेषा राजंश्षतुर्दश । जरासंधेन राजानस्तत: क्रूरं प्रवर्त्स्यते

Transliteration

ṣaḍaśītiḥ samānītāḥ śeṣā rājan caturdaśa | jarāsandhena rājānas tataḥ krūraṁ pravartsyate ||

Translation

Kṛṣṇa berkata: “Wahai Raja, lapan puluh enam raja telah pun dibawa (dalam tawanan) oleh Jarāsandha; tinggal empat belas sahaja. Setelah dia menawan mereka juga, dia akan semakin terdorong melakukan perbuatan yang lebih kejam.”

Word by Word

• षडशीतिḥ: eighty-six
• षडशीतिḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: षडशीति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• समानीताḥ: brought together / collected (i.e., captured)
• समानीताḥ: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-नी (धातु)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, क्त (past passive participle)

• शेषाḥ: remaining
• शेषाḥ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• चतुर्दश: fourteen
• चतुर्दश: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• जरासंधेन: by Jarāsandha
• जरासंधेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरासंध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• राजानः: kings
• राजानः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ततः: then / thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)

• क्रूरम्: cruel
• क्रूरम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• प्रवर्त्स्यते: will engage in / will proceed
• प्रवर्त्स्यते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√वृत् (धातु)
• Form: Future, 3rd, Singular, Ātmanepada

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

कृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Jarāsandha
• rājānaḥ (captured kings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that when a ruler driven by cruelty faces no restraint, oppression escalates: after subduing many, he seeks to complete domination and then turns to even harsher acts. Ethically, it implies the duty of righteous kings to check adharma before it grows.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kṛṣṇa informs the addressed king that Jarāsandha has already imprisoned eighty-six kings and that only fourteen remain free. He predicts that once Jarāsandha captures the rest, he will proceed to further cruel actions—heightening the urgency for intervention.