Shloka 12
Kuntī–Karṇa Saṃvāda: Lineage Disclosure and Appeal to Fraternal Dharma
पाण्डवाश्षेदिपज्चाला यादवाक्ष समागता: । भारतै: सह योत्स्यन्ति कि नु दुःखमत: परम्,'पाण्डव, चेदि, पांचाल और यादव एकत्र होकर भरतवंशियोंके साथ युद्ध करेंगे, इससे बढ़कर दुःखकी बात और क्या हो सकती है?
pāṇḍavāś cedipañcālā yādavāś ca samāgatāḥ | bhārataiḥ saha yotsyanti ki nu duḥkham ataḥ param ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “The Pāṇḍavas, the Cedis, the Pāñcālas, and the Yādavas have assembled, and they will fight together with the Bhāratas. What sorrow could be greater than this?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical tragedy of internecine war: when closely related lineages and their allies unite for battle, the greatest loss is not only lives but the rupture of dharma—family bonds, social order, and moral clarity.
In the Udyoga Parva’s war-preparation context, Vaiśaṃpāyana reports that multiple major factions—Pāṇḍavas with Cedis, Pāñcālas, and Yādavas—have gathered and are set to fight the Bhāratas, prompting a lament that nothing could be more grievous.