Shloka 28
Pradyumna–Śālva Missile-Exchange at Saubha (Āraṇyaka Parva, Adhyāya 18)
सात्यकिं बलदेवं च ये चान्येडन्धकवृष्णय: । मया स्पर्थन्ति सततं कि नु वक्ष्यामि तानहम्,'सात्यकिसे, बलरामजीसे तथा अन्धक और वृष्णिवंशके अन्य वीरोंसे, जो सदा मुझसे स्पर्धा रखते हैं, मैं क्या कहूँगा?
sātyakiṃ baladevaṃ ca ye cānye ’ndhaka-vṛṣṇayaḥ | mayā spardhanti satataṃ ki nu vakṣyāmi tān aham ||
Vāyu said: “As for Sātyaki, Baladeva, and the other heroes of the Andhaka and Vṛṣṇi line—who are ever in rivalry with me—what, indeed, can I say about them?”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights restraint and realism in judgment: when others are constant rivals, praise or blame can become biased or contentious; the speaker signals the limits of fair speech amid ongoing competition.
Vāyudeva refers to prominent Yādava heroes—Sātyaki, Baladeva, and other Andhaka-Vṛṣṇi warriors—stating that they continually vie with him, and therefore he questions what meaningful statement he can make about them.