Shloka 2
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
जीमूत इव घर्मान्ति सर्वा संश्रावयन् सभाम् | धृतराष्ट्रमभिप्रेक्ष्य समभाषत माधव:
jīmūta iva gharmānte sarvā saṁśrāvayan sabhām | dhṛtarāṣṭram abhiprekṣya samabhāṣata mādhavaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi Janamejaya, khi các vua trong hội đường đều ngồi im lặng, Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa)—giọng trầm sâu như tiếng trống lớn—hướng nhìn về Dhṛtarāṣṭra và bắt đầu cất lời, khiến cả đại sảnh đều nghe rõ, như mây sấm gầm vang vào cuối mùa hạ.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames righteous counsel as public, accountable speech: Kṛṣṇa addresses the king directly in the full assembly, implying that moral responsibility in governance must be faced openly, especially when decisions may lead to war.
In the Kuru court, the gathered kings fall silent. Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava) turns his gaze to Dhṛtarāṣṭra and begins a resonant address that the entire assembly can hear, compared to thunder at summer’s end—signaling a decisive intervention in the diplomatic crisis.