ततो ऽब्रवीन् महाबाहुर् वासुदेवो धनंजयम् ॥
एष प्रयाति त्वरितो क्रोधाविष्टो युधिष्ठिरः ॥
जिघांसुः सूतपुत्रस्य तस्योपेक्षा न युज्यते ॥
एवम् उक्त्वा हृषीकेशः शीघ्रम् अश्वान् अचोदयत् ॥
दूरं च यातं राजानम् अन्वगच्छज् जनार्दनः ॥
तं दृष्ट्वा सहसा यान्तं सूतपुत्रजिघांसया ॥
शोकोपहतसंकल्पं दह्यमानम् इवाग्निना ॥
अभिगम्याब्रवीद् व्यासो धर्मपुत्रं युधिष्ठिरम् ॥
कर्णम् आसाद्य संग्रामे दिष्ट्या जीवति फल्गुनः ॥
सव्यसाचिवधाकाङ्क्षी शक्तिं रक्षितवान् हि सः ॥
tato 'bravīn mahābāhur vāsudevo dhanaṃjayam ||
eṣa prayāti tvarito krodhāviṣṭo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
jighāṃsuḥ sūtaputrasya tasyopekṣā na yujyate ||
evam uktvā hṛṣīkeśaḥ śīghram aśvān acodayat ||
dūraṃ ca yātaṃ rājānam anvagacchaj janārdanaḥ ||
taṃ dṛṣṭvā sahasā yāntaṃ sūtaputrajighāṃsayā ||
śokopahatasaṃkalpaṃ dahyamānam ivāgninā ||
abhigamyābravīd vyāso dharmaputraṃ yudhiṣṭhiram ||
karṇam āsādya saṃgrāme diṣṭyā jīvati phalgunaḥ ||
savyasācivadhākāṅkṣī śaktiṃ rakṣitavān hi saḥ ||
...Shikhandin, surrounded [by them], hastening, followed after the king. Then, clad in armor, the Panchalas and the Pandavas, headed by Yudhishthira, struck the kettledrums and blew into conches. Then the mighty-armed Vasudeva spoke to Dhananjaya: "Behold, the hastening Yudhishthira, seized by wrath, goes forth, longing to slay the son of the suta; it is not fitting to neglect him." Having spoken thus, Hrishikesha swiftly urged the horses on; and Janardana caught up with the king who had gone far ahead.
dedebf710fa2 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:58:11 PM UTC
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Krishna does not leave the wrathful king unwatched: "it is not fitting to neglect him." It is telling that providential care extends even to guarding the righteous from their own rashness. The verse teaches that love keeps watch even when the beloved, overcome by anger, becomes a danger to himself; and the highest guardianship not only wards off the enemy but also protects a friend from his own impulse — hastening after him so he does not destroy himself.