Shloka 1
Abhimanyunidhana-prakāśaḥ — Vasudeva–Kṛṣṇa–Subhadrā–Kuntī śoka-saṃvāda
Disclosure and Consolation
वसुदेवजीने पूछा--वृष्णिनन्दन! मैं प्रतिदिन बातचीतके प्रसंगमें लोगोंके मुँहसे सुनता आ रहा हूँ कि महाभारत-युद्ध बड़ा अद्भुत हुआ था। इसलिये पूछता हूँ कि कौरवों और पाण्डवोंमें किस तरह युद्ध हुआ?
Vasudeva uvāca— Vṛṣṇinandana! Ahaṁ pratidinaṁ saṁbhāṣaṇa-prasaṅge lokānāṁ mukhāt śṛṇomi yathā Mahābhārata-yuddhaṁ mahad adbhutam āsīt. Tasmāt pṛcchāmi— Kauravaiḥ Pāṇḍavaiś ca kathaṁ yuddham abhavat?
婆苏提婆说道：“噢，弗利什尼族之欢悦者！日复一日，在寻常谈话之间，我总听人亲口说《摩诃婆罗多》之战实为奇绝。故我请问：俱卢族的考罗婆与般度族的般度婆之间，这场战争究竟如何展开？”
वसुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dhārmic inquiry: one should seek a reliable, principled account of a famed event rather than rely only on popular report. It frames the Mahābhārata war not merely as spectacle but as an ethically weighty conflict worth understanding in its causes and conduct.
Vasudeva addresses Kṛṣṇa (as ‘Vṛṣṇinandana’) and asks him to explain how the war between the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas took place, because he repeatedly hears people describe it as extraordinary.