जननी च किमर्थ ते रणभूमिमुपागता । नागेन्द्रदुहििता चेयमुलूपी किमिहागता,“तुम्हारी माता किसलिये रणभूमिमें आयी है? तथा इस नागराजकन्या उलूपीका आगमन भी यहाँ किसलिये हुआ है?
jananī ca kimarthaṃ te raṇabhūmim upāgatā | nāgendra-duhitā ceyam ulūpī kim ihāgatā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “For what reason has your mother come to the battlefield? And why has Ulūpī—this daughter of the lord of serpents—also come here?”
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
The verse foregrounds dharmic discernment through questioning: extraordinary actions—like a mother and a Nāga princess appearing at a battlefield—must be examined for their purpose, motive, and moral necessity rather than accepted uncritically.
The narrator reports a pointed inquiry about two unexpected arrivals at the battlefield: the listener is asked why his mother has come and why Ulūpī, the Nāga-king’s daughter, has also appeared—setting up the explanation of their intent and the ensuing episode.