Shloka 143
Rājagṛhe Magadheśvarasya yuddhāhvānam — Arjunena saṃyamaḥ
The Rājagṛha Challenge and Arjuna’s Restraint
प्रययुस्तांस्तदा राजन्नुग्रसेनो न्यवारयत् | राजन! वहाँ यदुवंशी वीरोंके बालकोंने उस उत्तम अश्वको बलपूर्वक पकड़कर युद्धके लिये उद्योग किया; परंतु महाराज उग्रसेनने उन्हें रोक दिया
prayayus tāṁs tadā rājan ugrasenō nyavārayat |
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “O Hari, sa sandaling iyon, nang sila’y papaalis na, pinigil sila ni Ugrasena. Sapagkat ang mga binatilyong anak ng mga bayani ng angkang Yadu ay sapilitang sinunggaban ang napakahusay na kabayong panghandog at naghanda para sa digmaan; subalit pinigil ni Haring Ugrasena ang kanilang bugso, upang maiwasan ang padalus-dalos na labanan.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights royal and ethical restraint: even when young warriors are eager to assert strength, an elder-king must curb impulsive violence, protecting dharma by preventing needless escalation around a sacred rite (the Aśvamedha).
The youths of the Yadu clan forcibly seize the sacrificial horse and ready themselves for combat, but Ugrasena intervenes and stops them as they are about to proceed, averting an immediate outbreak of fighting.