Shloka 28

Devanagari script

युध्यमानस्य मे वीर गन्धर्व: सुमहाबलै: । सहायो घोषयात्रायां कस्तदा55सीत्‌ सखा मम,“वीरवर! कौरवोंकी घोषयात्राके समय जब मैंने महाबली गन्धर्वोके साथ युद्ध किया था, उस समय कौन-सा मित्र मेरी सहायताके लिये आया था?

Transliteration

yudhyamānasya me vīra gandharvaḥ sumahābalaiḥ | sahāyo ghoṣayātrāyāṃ kas tadā ’sīt sakhā mama ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai pahlawan, ketika aku bertempur melawan para Gandharva yang amat perkasa dalam ghoṣa-yātrā, ekspedisi ternakan lembu kaum Kaurava, sahabat manakah yang datang ketika itu untuk membantuku?”

Word by Word

युध्यमानस्यof (me) fighting

मेmy / of me

वीरO hero

गन्धर्वैःwith the Gandharvas

सुमहाबलैःvery mighty

सहायःhelper / ally

घोषयात्रायाम्in the cattle-raid expedition

कःwho?

तदाthen

आसीत्was

सखाfriend

ममof me / my

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Gandharvas

Ghoṣa-yātrā (Kaurava cattle-expedition)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical value of steadfast friendship: in moments of danger and humiliation, true allies reveal themselves through timely assistance, reinforcing ideals of loyalty and honor within the kṣatriya world.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker recalls the episode of the Kauravas’ ghoṣa-yātrā, when a battle broke out with powerful Gandharvas, and asks which friend came to provide help during that fight.