तत आश्शलिष्य त॑ प्रेम्णा मूर्थ्नि चाप्राय पाण्डव: । प्रीत्या परमया युक्तो विस्मयंश्व पुनः पुन:
tata āśliṣya taṁ premṇā mūrdhni cāghrāya pāṇḍavaḥ | prītyā paramayā yukto vismayaṁś ca punaḥ punaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then the Pāṇḍava embraced him with affection and kissed (or smelled) his head. Filled with the highest joy, he kept expressing wonder again and again—an intimate gesture of kinship and reverence that momentarily softens the harshness of war with humane gratitude and recognition.
संजय उवाच