Shloka 25

सेनासमागमः — The Convergence of Armies

Devanagari script

केकयाश्ष नरव्याप्रा: सोदर्या: पठ्च पार्थिवा:

Transliteration

kekayāś ca naravyāprāḥ sodaryāḥ pañca pārthivāḥ

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: And the five royal brothers of Kekaya—men of vigorous enterprise—were assembled there, brothers born of the same mother. The line proclaims their kinship-unity and readiness for action, an ethical motif that recurs in the Udyoga Parva as alliances are forged by blood-ties and shared resolve.

Word by Word

• केकयाः: the Kekayas
• केकयाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: केकय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नरव्याप्राः: tiger-like men / man-tigers (valiant men)
• नरव्याप्राः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नरव्याप्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सोदर्याः: uterine brothers / brothers of the same mother
• सोदर्याः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सोदर्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पञ्च: five
• पञ्च: Karta
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पञ्च
• Form: true

• पार्थिवाः: kings
• पार्थिवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशमग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Kekaya (kingdom/people)
• five Kekaya kings (brothers)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds two values crucial to the Udyoga Parva: unity rooted in shared lineage (sodaryāḥ) and readiness for purposeful action (naravyāprāḥ). In the ethical landscape of impending conflict, such cohesion and capability become decisive in forming and sustaining alliances.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana is listing or noting the presence of key allied rulers: the five royal brothers from the Kekaya country, described as energetic and mutually united by being born of the same mother.