Shloka 59
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
जननी च किमर्थ ते रणभूमिमुपागता । नागेन्द्रदुहििता चेयमुलूपी किमिहागता,“तुम्हारी माता किसलिये रणभूमिमें आयी है? तथा इस नागराजकन्या उलूपीका आगमन भी यहाँ किसलिये हुआ है?
jananī ca kimarthaṃ te raṇabhūmim upāgatā | nāgendra-duhitā ceyam ulūpī kim ihāgatā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: „Aus welchem Grund ist deine Mutter auf das Schlachtfeld gekommen? Und warum ist auch Ulūpī—die Tochter des Herrn der Schlangen—hierher gelangt?“
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharmic discernment through questioning: extraordinary actions—like a mother and a Nāga princess appearing at a battlefield—must be examined for their purpose, motive, and moral necessity rather than accepted uncritically.
The narrator reports a pointed inquiry about two unexpected arrivals at the battlefield: the listener is asked why his mother has come and why Ulūpī, the Nāga-king’s daughter, has also appeared—setting up the explanation of their intent and the ensuing episode.