Shloka 4
Kirmīra-rākṣasa-saṃgamaḥ (Encounter and Slaying of Kirmīra) | किर्मीरेण सह भीमसेनसमागमः
वासुदेवं पुरस्कृत्य सर्वे ते क्षत्रियर्षभा: । परिवार्योपविविशुर्धर्मराजं युधिष्ठिरम् । अभिवाद्य कुरुश्रेष्ठ विषण्ण: केशवो<ब्रवीत्,भगवान् श्रीकृष्णको आगे करके वे सभी क्षत्रियशिरोमणि धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरको चारों ओरसे घेरकर बैठे। उस समय भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण विषादग्रस्त हो कुरुप्रवर युधिष्ठिरको नमस्कार करके इस प्रकार बोले
vāsudevaṃ puraskṛtya sarve te kṣatriyarṣabhāḥ | parivāryopaviviśur dharmarājaṃ yudhiṣṭhiram | abhivādya kuruśreṣṭha viṣaṇṇaḥ keśavo 'bravīt ||
Placing Vāsudeva at their head, all those bull-like leaders among the kṣatriyas surrounded Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira and sat down around him. Then Keśava—downcast with sorrow—paid homage to the best of the Kurus and spoke. The scene frames counsel as an ethical act: the warriors gather not for battle but for deliberation under dharma, with Kṛṣṇa’s grief underscoring the moral weight of what is to be decided.
वैशम्पायन उवाच