Shloka 3

Devanagari script

भक्तिवादेन पार्थानामकस्मान्म धुसूदन । भवान्‌ गर्हयते नित्यं कि समीक्ष्य बलाबलम्‌,“मधुसूदन! आप पाण्डवोंके प्रेमकी दुहाई देकर जो अकारण ही सदा हमारी निन्दा करते रहते हैं, इसका क्या कारण है? क्या आप हमलोगोंके बलाबलका विचार करके ऐसा करते हैं?

Transliteration

bhaktivādena pārthānām akasmān madhusūdana | bhavān garhayate nityaṁ kiṁ samīkṣya balābalam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi Madhusūdana, ngài vin vào lòng mến yêu và sự tận tụy của các Pandava làm cớ, cớ sao lại luôn miệng chê trách chúng ta mà dường như chẳng có nguyên do? Có phải vì ngài đã cân nhắc sức mạnh và chỗ yếu của chúng ta rồi nên mới nói như vậy chăng?”

Word by Word

भक्तिवादेनby (the) plea/argument of devotion (i.e., invoking affection)

पार्थानाम्of the sons of Pṛthā (the Pāṇḍavas)

अकस्मात्suddenly; without cause

मधुसूदनO Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa)

भवान्you

गर्हयते(you) censure/blame

नित्यम्always

किम्what?

समीक्ष्यhaving considered/examined

बलाबलम्strength and weakness (relative power)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa)

Pārthas (Pāṇḍavas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical scrutiny of rhetoric in conflict: invoking devotion or loyalty can be used as a pretext for blame, and opponents may suspect that moral language masks strategic calculation about relative strength. It invites reflection on whether speech is guided by dharma or by power-politics.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the tense pre-war setting of the Udyoga Parva, the speaker addresses Kṛṣṇa (Madhusūdana), questioning why he repeatedly criticizes ‘us’ while citing the Pandavas’ devotion, and whether this stance is based on an assessment of comparative strength and weakness.