Shishupala Insults the Honor Given to Krishna
At the climax of Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice, Bhishma declares Krishna the most deserving guest of all. When the first arghya—the supreme honorific offering—is presented to Krishna, King Shishupala of Chedi erupts in fury, publicly censuring Bhishma and Yudhishthira and insulting Krishna before the entire assembly.
The inner altar of Yudhishthira’s sacrificial enclosure was a place of pure light. Only brahmanas and kings could enter. The great sages, led by Narada, sat there with the royal sages, radiant as gods in Brahma’s abode. They performed each rite and debated its finer points, some making weak arguments strong, others citing sacred texts to dismantle strong ones, their discourse as sharp as hawks tearing at meat. The altar, surrounded by these learned ones, shone like a starry sky. No shudra or uninitiated person was near.
Narada, seeing the magnificent prosperity of Dharmaraja Yudhishthira and the full consequences of his sacrifice, was satisfied. But as he looked upon the assembly of all the kshatriyas (warriors) of the earth, his thoughts turned to an ancient account he had heard in Brahma’s abode. He recognized this as an assembly of gods in human form. He remembered Pundarikaksha Hari—the lotus-eyed Narayana. The lord of the universe, the destroyer of enemy cities, had been born as a kshatriya to keep a pledge. Long ago, the creator had commanded the gods: “You will regain your own worlds after you have killed one another.” To fulfill this, Shambhu Narayana himself had taken birth in the Yadu dynasty, among the Vrishnis and Andhakas. There he shone with supreme prosperity, like the moon among stars, his strength worshipped by Indra and all the gods. “The self-creator will himself take away all these great and strong kshatriyas,” Narada thought, knowing Hari was the god worshipped through sacrifices. He stayed at the sacrifice to honor this truth.
It was then that Bhishma spoke to King Yudhishthira. “Let offerings be made to the kings, according to what they deserve. One’s preceptor, priest, relative, a snataka (one who has completed Vedic studies), a friend, and a king—these six are deserving. So too is one who stays more than a year. These kings have stayed a long time. Therefore, let an arghya be brought for each. But let the first arghya be brought for he who is the most deserving among them all.”
Yudhishthira asked, “Grandfather, whom do you consider should receive the first arghya? Tell me what is right.”
Through his discernment, Bhishma determined that Varshneya Krishna was the most deserving person on earth. “Among all these assembled here,” he declared, “he is the one who blazes with energy, strength, and valour, like the sun shines among the stars. This sacrificial place is lit up and gladdened by Krishna, like a sunless place with the sun and a windless place with the wind.”
Instructed by Bhishma, the powerful Sahadeva brought the supreme arghya and offered it to Krishna in accordance with the prescribed rites. Krishna accepted it, as the sacred texts dictated.
Shishupala, the immensely powerful king of Chedi, could not tolerate this homage shown to Vasudeva. In the middle of that sacred assembly, he erupted. He publicly censured Bhishma. He censured Dharmaraja Yudhishthira. And then he turned his fury and insult directly upon Vasudeva himself.