Shloka 12
Jarāsandha’s Sieges and the Lord’s Human-Conforming Strategy
Rāja-dharma as Līlā
सर्वेष्व् एतेषु युद्धेषु यादवैः स पराजितः अपक्रान्तो जरासंधः स्वल्पसैन्यैर् बलाधिकः
sarveṣv eteṣu yuddheṣu yādavaiḥ sa parājitaḥ apakrānto jarāsaṃdhaḥ svalpasainyair balādhikaḥ
सर्वेष्वेतेषु युद्धेषु यादवैः स पराजितः; जरासन्धः स्वल्पसैन्यैः शिष्टः सन्, बलाधिकः अपि, अपक्रान्तः।
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
FAQs
It highlights that mere physical might and vast armies do not secure victory when opposed by a divinely protected, dharma-aligned polity—here, the Yādavas under Krishna’s overarching sovereignty.
Parāśara presents political power as contingent: even a stronger king can be forced into retreat when fortune, strategy, and dharma converge against him—implying a higher ordering principle behind outcomes.
Even when not named in the verse, the Krishna-centered narrative treats victory and the protection of dharma as expressions of Vishnu’s supreme governance over history and kings.