Shloka 213
Plakṣaprasravaṇa–Kārapacana tīrtha-varṇana and Nārada’s war briefing (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 53)
कुरुक्षेत्रनिबद्धां वै तां शृणुष्व हलायुध । हलायुध! स्वयं देवराज इन्द्रने कुरुक्षेत्रके सम्बन्धमें यहाँ जो गाथा गायी है, उसे आप सुनिये
kuru-kṣetra-nibaddhāṃ vai tāṃ śṛṇuṣva halāyudha | halāyudha! svayaṃ devarāja indreṇa kuru-kṣetre sambandham atra yā gāthā gītā, tāṃ tvaṃ śṛṇu ||
Rāma nói: “Hỡi Halāyudha, hãy lắng nghe bài kệ cổ gắn với Kurukṣetra ấy. Hỡi người mang vũ khí là lưỡi cày, hãy nghe gāthā mà chính Indra—vua của chư thiên—đã cất lên tại đây về Kurukṣetra.”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage foregrounds the ethical authority of inherited sacred testimony: a teaching about Kurukṣetra is introduced not as mere opinion but as a revered gāthā attributed to Indra, implying that dharma is supported by tradition, divine witness, and the sanctity of place.
Rāma (Balarāma), addressing Halāyudha (an epithet for Balarāma himself, used vocatively in the received wording), introduces a traditional verse connected with Kurukṣetra and asks the listener to hear it, framing the next section as an authoritative citation sung by Indra about Kurukṣetra.