Shloka 18
अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्
Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas
अत्र कृष्णो हरिश्वैव कस्मिंश्षित् कारणान्तरे
atra kṛṣṇo hariś caiva kasmiṁścit kāraṇāntare
Bhīṣma berkata: “Di sini, Kṛṣṇa—bahkan Hari juga—(menampakkan diri/bertindak) dalam suatu keadaan yang lain, kerana suatu sebab tertentu yang menyela.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights divine agency operating through specific causes and contexts: Kṛṣṇa (Hari) may act or be understood differently depending on the particular circumstance and the intervening reason (kāraṇāntara), encouraging careful ethical interpretation rather than simplistic judgments.
Bhīṣma, in his instruction during the Śānti Parva, introduces or qualifies a point by noting that Kṛṣṇa—identified with Hari—figures in a certain episode or argument due to some other specific cause, signaling a contextual explanation to follow.