Shloka 46
Parīkṣit’s Questions and the Prelude to Kṛṣṇa’s Advent
Earth’s Burden, Viṣṇu’s Order, and Kaṁsa’s Fear
श्रीशुक उवाच एवं स सामभिर्भेदैर्बोध्यमानोऽपि दारुण: । न न्यवर्तत कौरव्य पुरुषादाननुव्रत: ॥ ४६ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca evaṁ sa sāmabhir bhedair bodhyamāno ’pi dāruṇaḥ na nyavartata kauravya puruṣādān anuvrataḥ
श्रीशुक उवाच—एवं स सामभिर्भेदैः बोध्यमानोऽपि दारुणः, पुरुषादाननुव्रतः कौरव्य न न्यवर्तत; न च पापफलम् इह परत्र वा मन्यते स्म।
FAQs
This verse states that Kaṁsa remained cruel and did not desist even after conciliatory counsel and sound reasoning, because he was committed to a harmful course of persecuting others.
Śukadeva addresses Parīkṣit as ‘Kauravya’ to indicate his lineage as a descendant of the Kuru dynasty while narrating how Kaṁsa persisted in adharma.
It teaches discernment: some people will not reform through gentle counsel alone when they are fixed in harmful intent—one should seek protection, set boundaries, and align with dharma rather than enabling cruelty.