जरासंधं महाबाहुम् उपायेन जनार्दनः ॥
परेण घातयाम् आस पृथग् अक्षौहिणीपतिम् ॥
चेदिराजं च विक्रान्तं राजसेनापतिं बली ॥
अर्घे विवदमानं च जघान पशुवत् तदा ॥
सौभं दैत्यपुरं स्वस्थं शाल्वगुप्तं दुरासदम् ॥
समुद्रकुक्षौ विक्रम्य पातयाम् आस माधवः ॥
jarāsaṃdhaṃ mahābāhum upāyena janārdanaḥ ||
pareṇa ghātayām āsa pṛthag akṣauhiṇīpatim ||
cedirājaṃ ca vikrāntaṃ rājasenāpatiṃ balī ||
arghe vivadamānaṃ ca jaghāna paśuvat tadā ||
saubhaṃ daityapuraṃ svasthaṃ śālvaguptaṃ durāsadam ||
samudrakukṣau vikramya pātayām āsa mādhavaḥ ||
Mighty-armed Jarasandha, lord of countless armies, Janardana [Krishna] caused to be destroyed by a stratagem through another's hands [Bhima's]. And the valiant king of Chedi [Shishupala], commander of the allied kings, who had picked a quarrel over the honorary gift, the mighty [Krishna] then felled like a sacrificial animal. Saubha, the demonic stronghold that stood unharmed, guarded by King Shalva, unassailable, [suspended] in the bosom of the ocean, Madhava [Krishna], displaying his might, brought crashing down.
42333d50ca23 · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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Krishna destroys Jarasandha "by a stratagem, through another's hands": the Lord does not always strike Himself, but acts through chosen instruments, remaining the hidden orchestrator. Thus He teaches that even His instruments (here Bhima) are executors of His will. Shishupala, the blasphemer, however, He fells Himself — "like a sacrificial animal": to revile the Lord is self-condemnation, and the blasphemer becomes the victim of his own impiety. The verse teaches that the Supreme executes justice now by His own hand, now through chosen instruments; that one who quarrels with and reviles the Lord condemns himself to destruction; and that strongholds of evil unassailable to men, however exalted even above the deep, are crushed the instant the Lord displays His might.