चेदिराजो ऽपि तच् छ्रुत्वा पाण्डवस्य चिकीर्षितम् ॥
उपनिष्क्रम्य नगरात् प्रत्यगृह्णात् परंतपः ॥
तौ समेत्य महाराज कुरुचेदिवृषौ तदा ॥
उभयोर् आत्मकुलयोः कौशल्यं पर्यपृच्छताम् ॥
ततो निवेद्य तद् राष्ट्रं चेदिराजो विशां पते ॥
उवाच भीमं प्रहसन् किम् इदं कुरुषे ऽनघ ॥
cedirājo 'pi tac chrutvā pāṇḍavasya cikīrṣitam ||
upaniṣkramya nagarāt pratyagṛhṇāt paraṃtapaḥ ||
tau sametya mahārāja kurucedivṛṣau tadā ||
ubhayor ātmakulayoḥ kauśalyaṃ paryapṛcchatām ||
tato nivedya tad rāṣṭraṃ cedirājo viśāṃ pate ||
uvāca bhīmaṃ prahasan kim idaṃ kuruṣe 'nagha ||
And the king of Chedi, hearing of the Pandava's intention, scorcher of foes, came out from the city and received him. Having met, O great king, the two bulls of the Kuru and Chedi lines asked each other after the welfare of both their houses. Then, having offered up his own kingdom, the king of Chedi, O lord of the people, said to Bhima with a laugh: "What is it that you are doing, O sinless one?"
b3168daedb15 · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:28:51 PM UTC
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Here Shishupala, destined to fall by Krishna's hand at the sacrifice, meets Bhima as a kinsman -- comes out to greet him, asks after his household, laughs, offers up his kingdom. It is telling how peaceful this prelude to the coming enmity is: for now there is harmony between the houses, and the discord has not yet ripened. The verse teaches how changeable human relations are, and how fragile a peace resting on goodwill can be: one who today with a smile gives up what is his own may later rise as an accuser. Remembering such a turn brings sobriety: one should neither revel in friendliness nor despair over enmity -- all lies under the hand of a higher ordering.