Shloka 4
Adhyāya 39: Śiśupāla’s Censure and Bhīma’s Contained Wrath (शिशुपाल-निन्दा तथा भीमक्रोध-निग्रहः)
मतिमन्तश्न ये केचिदाचार्य पितरं गुरुम्,स एव हि मया वध्यो भविष्यति न संशय: । “राजाओ! केशी दैत्यका वध करनेवाले अनन्त-पराक्रमी भगवान् श्रीकृष्णकी मेरे द्वारा जो पूजा की गयी है, उसे आपलोगोंमेंसे जो सहन न कर सकें, उन सब बलवानोंके मस्तकपर मैंने यह पैर रख दिया। मैंने खूब सोच-समझकर यह बात कही है। जो इसका उत्तर देना चाहे, वह सामने आ जाय। मेरे द्वारा वह वधके योग्य होगा; इसमें संशय नहीं है
matimantaś ca ye kecid ācāryaṃ pitaraṃ gurum | sa eva hi mayā vadhyo bhaviṣyati na saṃśayaḥ ||
मतिमन्तोऽपि ये केचिदाचार्यं पितरं गुरुम् । न सहन्ते मया कृष्णं पूज्यमानं नृपाः, स एव हि मया वध्यो भविष्यति न संशयः ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how honor offered to a worthy figure (here, Kṛṣṇa) becomes a moral test for the assembly: those driven by envy or wounded pride cannot tolerate rightful reverence and thereby invite conflict. It warns that arrogance and intolerance toward others’ devotion or merit can rapidly turn a courtly setting into a stage for violence.
In the royal assembly context, a speaker (reported by Vaiśaṃpāyana) issues a provocative challenge: anyone who cannot bear the worship/honor shown to Kṛṣṇa should come forward, for such a person is declared worthy of being slain. The rhetoric of ‘placing a foot on their heads’ signals domination and deliberate insult, escalating tensions among powerful men present.