Shloka 13
Śiśupāla-janma-lakṣaṇaṃ (Śiśupāla’s birth marks and the prophecy of his end)
आदातुं च नरव्याप्रो यं यमिच्छत्ययं तदा । तस्य विप्लवते बुद्धिरेवं चेदिपतेर्यथा
ādātuṃ ca naravyāpro yaṃ yam icchaty ayaṃ tadā | tasya viplavate buddhir evaṃ cedipater yathā ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: Khi bậc tối thượng trong loài người—Śrī Kṛṣṇa—đã khởi ý muốn thu nhận ai vào chính mình và chọn đúng người ấy, thì trí hiểu của kẻ đó liền bị đảo lộn, tan nát; cũng như đã xảy đến với vua xứ Cedi (Śiśupāla).
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a moral-psychological principle framed through divine agency: when a person is destined for downfall (here, being ‘taken’ by the Lord), discernment collapses, leading to self-destructive speech and action. It cautions against arrogance and persistent hostility that erode buddhi (clear judgment).
Vaiśampāyana comments on the situation surrounding the Cedi king Śiśupāla: as Kṛṣṇa’s decisive moment approaches, Śiśupāla’s intellect becomes confounded, and he acts in a way that hastens his own ruin—serving as an example of how judgment can fail at a critical turning point.