Shloka 20

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

Devanagari script

मूर्थाभिषिक्त नृपतिं प्रधानपुरुषो बलात्‌ | आदत्ते न च नो दृष्टो5 भाग: पुरुषत: क्वचित्‌,आजकल वह प्रधान पुरुष बनकर मूर्धाभिषिक्त राजाको बलपूर्वक बंदी बना लेता है। जिनका विधि-पूर्वक राज्यपर अभिषेक हुआ है, ऐसे पुरुषोंमेंसे कहीं किसी एकको भी हमने ऐसा नहीं देखा, जिसे उसने बलिका भाग न बना लिया हो--कैदमें न डाल रखा हो

Transliteration

mūrdhābhiṣiktaṁ nṛpatiṁ pradhāna-puruṣo balāt | ādatte na ca no dṛṣṭo bhāgaḥ puruṣataḥ kvacit ||

Translation

कृष्ण उवाच—मूर्धाभिषिक्तं नृपतिं प्रधानपुरुषो बलात्। आदत्ते न च नो दृष्टो भागः पुरुषतः क्वचित्॥

Word by Word

{'mūrdhābhiṣikta''duly anointed

formally consecrated (as king)', 'nṛpati''king

ruler', 'pradhāna-puruṣa''chief person

paramount leader (often implying a presumptuous overlord)', 'balāt''by force

forcibly', 'ādatte''takes

appropriates', 'na ca''and not

nor', 'naḥ''by us

for us', 'dṛṣṭaḥ''seen

observed', 'bhāga''share

levy/tribute (here, the ‘share’ taken from kings—i.e., subjugation/tribute)', 'puruṣataḥ''from a man/person

from among men (herefrom among such kings)', 'kvacit': 'anywhere

Speaker

कृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kṛṣṇa

anointed kings (mūrdhābhiṣikta nṛpati)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Legitimate kingship rests on lawful consecration and righteous conduct; a self-appointed overlord who uses force to seize anointed rulers and extract ‘shares’ (tribute through captivity) violates dharma and undermines political legitimacy.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kṛṣṇa describes a powerful figure who, acting as a paramount ruler, forcibly subjugates consecrated kings—taking them as captives and compelling tribute—highlighting the pattern of coercive domination rather than lawful sovereignty.