Shloka 28
यानि तूभयतो राजन प्रतप्तानि महान्ति च | तानि युद्धानि वक्ष्यामि कौन्तेयस्य तवानघ,निष्पाप नरेश! जो युद्ध दोनों पक्षके योद्धाओंके लिये अधिक कष्टदायक और महान् थे, अर्जुनके उन्हीं युद्धोंका मैं यहाँ तुमसे वर्णन करूँगा
yāni tūbhayato rājan prataptāni mahānti ca | tāni yuddhāni vakṣyāmi kaunteyasya tavānagha niṣpāpa nareśa ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O King, those battles which were grievous to both sides and truly great in their scale—those very wars of Arjuna, O sinless lord of men, I shall now recount to you.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war ethically through its human cost: the narrator highlights battles as “grievous to both sides,” reminding the listener that even ‘great’ wars are measured not only by victory but by the suffering they inflict.
Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses King Janamejaya and announces that he will now recount the major and most painful battles involving Arjuna, setting up a detailed narration of those conflicts.