Shloka 2
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
यदुक्तवान् पितुर्महां मार्कण्डेयो महानृषि: । तदशेषेण ब्रुवतो मम राजर्षिसत्तम
yad uktavān pitur mahān mārkaṇḍeyo mahān ṛṣiḥ | tad aśeṣeṇa bruvato mama rājarṣi-sattama, nibodha manasā cātra na te kāryā vicāraṇā |
ドゥルヨーダナは言った。「王仙の中でも最勝の御方よ、心を定めてお聞きください。私は、大聖マールカンデーヤ（Mārkaṇḍeya）がかつて我が父に語ったこと—神々とアスラの戦いの時に起こった古の出来事—を余すところなく語り直そう。ためらいも疑いもなく聞かれよ。これは今の件に直結しているのだから。」
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the persuasive use of authoritative tradition: Duryodhana urges the listener to accept a sage’s earlier testimony as decisive, emphasizing attentive hearing and discouraging doubt. Ethically, it shows how appeals to revered sources can be used to steer judgment in moments of crisis.
Duryodhana addresses a ‘best of royal sages’ (in context, the Madra king Śalya) and introduces an old account: an incident from the Deva–Asura conflict that the sage Mārkaṇḍeya once narrated to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He signals that he will now recount it fully and asks the listener to focus and not question it.