Shloka 63
Samrāt-Lakṣaṇa and the Counsel to Check Jarāsandha (सम्राट्-लक्षणं जरासन्ध-प्रतिबाधा-परामर्शः)
तेन रुद्धा हि राजान: सर्वे जित्वा गिरिव्रजे । कन्दरे पर्वतेन्द्रस्य सिंहेनेव महाद्विपा:,उसने सब राजाओंको जीतकर गिरिव्रजमें इस प्रकार कैद कर रखा है, मानो सिंहने किसी महान् पर्वतकी गुफामें बड़े-बड़े गजराजोंको रोक रखा हो
tena ruddhā hi rājānaḥ sarve jitvā Girivraje | kandare parvatendrasya siṃheneva mahādvipāḥ ||
เขาได้พิชิตบรรดากษัตริย์ทั้งปวงแล้วกักขังไว้ ณ คิริวรชะ—ดุจสิงห์ขังช้างใหญ่ไว้ในถ้ำของจอมแห่งขุนเขา.
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical wrong of tyrannical conquest: true kṣatriya power should uphold dharma, not reduce fellow rulers to caged captives. The simile of a lion confining elephants stresses both the imbalance of force and the disgrace inflicted on the defeated.
Śrīkṛṣṇa describes how a powerful ruler has defeated many kings and is holding them imprisoned at Girivraja, likening their confinement to great elephants trapped in a mountain cave by a lion.