Shloka 28
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 54: फल्गुन-प्रतिरोधः, सौबली-व्यूह-विध्वंसः, दुर्योधन-भीष्म-संवादः
विराटद्रुपदौ चेमौ धृष्टद्युम्नश्व पार्षत: । तथैव सबलाश्षेमे राजानो राजसत्तम
virāṭa-drupadau cemau dhṛṣṭadyumnaś ca pārṣataḥ | tathaiva sa-balāś caime rājāno rāja-sattama ||
Sañjaya said: “Here are Virāṭa and Drupada, and also Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the son of Pārṣata (Drupada). Likewise, O best of kings, these other kings too stand here together with their forces.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the strategic and ethical weight of righteous alliances in war: kings who have pledged support appear with their forces, highlighting responsibility, loyalty to commitments, and the collective nature of kṣatriya duty on the battlefield.
Sañjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the prominent leaders present on the Pāṇḍava side—Virāṭa, Drupada, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna—along with other allied kings and their armies, as part of a battlefield enumeration before or during the great conflict.