सौवीरान् प्रतिपत्तौ च बभ्रोर् एष यशस्विनः ॥
भार्याम् अभ्यहरन् मोहाद् अकामां ताम् इतो गताम् ॥
एष मायाप्रतिच्छन्नः करूषार्थे तपस्विनीम् ॥
जहार भद्रां वैशालीं मातुलस्य नृशंसकृत् ॥
sauvīrān pratipattau ca babhror eṣa yaśasvinaḥ ||
bhāryām abhyaharan mohād akāmāṃ tām ito gatām ||
eṣa māyāpraticchannaḥ karūṣārthe tapasvinīm ||
jahāra bhadrāṃ vaiśālīṃ mātulasya nṛśaṃsakṛt ||
"And this one, on the way to the Sauviras, out of delusion carried off the wife of glorious Babhru, unwilling as she was, while she journeyed from here. And, cloaked in illusion, for the sake of King Karusha he, the villain, carried off the ascetic woman Bhadra of Vaishali, the bride of his own maternal uncle."
d3fb92eb2360 · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:49:21 PM UTC
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The list goes on: the abduction of others' wives, deception under a disguise (maya). It is telling that the villain does not spare even the sanctity of kinship — he assaults the bride of his own uncle. The verse shows how vice, once unrestrained, spreads in every direction: one who has transgressed once multiplies his transgressions until everything sacred falls. And the "maya", the disguise behind which Shishupala hid, is the seal of all impiety: evil loves to conceal itself under the guise of what is permitted. Thus Krishna's recital is not vindictive rancor, but the disclosure of the fullness of guilt — so that when the punishment comes, it will be seen by all as just, not sudden.