Shloka 11
ऋषिसमागमः — युधिष्ठिरस्य शोकवर्णनम्
Sage Assembly and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Articulation of Grief
दिष्ट्या मुक्तस्तु संग्रामादस्माल्लोक भयंकरात् । क्षत्रधर्मरतश्चापि कच्चिन्मोदसि पाण्डव
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: diṣṭyā muktas tu saṅgrāmād asmāl loka-bhayaṅkarāt | kṣatra-dharma-rataś cāpi kaccin modasi pāṇḍava ||
It is indeed fortunate that you have been released from this battle, which has filled the world with terror. And now, devoted to the duties of the warrior order, are you—O Pāṇḍava—at peace and glad at heart?
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even after a righteous victory, the epic frames war as world-terrifying and morally weighty; the speaker tests whether the king can now return to kṣatriya-dharma—rule, protection, and responsibility—without being consumed by grief or triumphalism.
At the opening of Śānti Parva, Vaiśampāyana narrates a concerned address to the Pāṇḍava king (Yudhiṣṭhira), noting his escape from the dreadful war and asking whether he is now content while remaining committed to the duties of a kṣatriya.