Shloka 18
Śakuni–Duryodhana-saṃvāda: Dyūta-yojanā (Śakuni and Duryodhana on Planning the Dice-Game)
धनुर्धराणां प्रवरं रुक्मिणं पुरुषोत्तमम् अतिक्रम्य महावीरय॑ कि प्रशंससि केशवम्,धनुर्धरोंमें श्रेष्ठ पुरुषरत्न महाबली रुक्मीकी अवहेलना करके तुम केशवकी प्रशंसाके गीत क्यों गाते हो?
dhanurdharāṇāṁ pravaraṁ rukmiṇaṁ puruṣottamam atikramya mahāvīrya kiṁ praśaṁsasi keśavam
Шишупала сказал: «Почему ты поёшь хвалу Кешаве, пренебрегая Рукми — лучшим из лучников, мужем превосходнейшим и воином великой мощи?»
शिशुपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how praise and honor in a royal assembly can become a moral dispute: Śiśupāla frames Kṛṣṇa’s glorification as unjust because, in his view, it ignores a reputed warrior (Rukmī). It reflects the ethical tension between genuine merit and factional pride.
In the assembly context, Śiśupāla challenges the acclaim given to Kṛṣṇa (Keśava). He objects that Rukmī—celebrated as an eminent archer and powerful hero—has been slighted, and he questions why Kṛṣṇa is being extolled instead.