Mahabharata · 6.1.1
॥
Devanāgarī
जनमेजय उवाच
कथं युयुधिरे वीराः कुरुपाण्डवसोमकाः ॥
पार्थिवाश् च महाभागा नानादेशसमागताः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
janamejaya uvāca
kathaṃ yuyudhire vīrāḥ kurupāṇḍavasomakāḥ ||
pārthivāś ca mahābhāgā nānādeśasamāgatāḥ ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
जनमेजयjanamejayaJanamejaya; King Janamejaya
उवाचuvācasaid; asked
कथंkathaṃhow?; in what way?
युयुधिरेyuyudhirefought; waged battle
वीराःvīrāḥheroes; valiant warriors
कुरुपाण्डवसोमकाःkurupāṇḍavasomakāḥKurus, Pandavas and Somakas; warriors of the Kuru, Pandu and Somaka lines
पार्थिवाश्pārthivāśkings; earthly lords
चcaand; also
महाभागाmahābhāgāgreatly fortunate; high-born
नानादेशसमागताःnānādeśasamāgatāḥgathered from various lands; arrived from many countries
Translation
Janamejaya asked: "How did the heroes of the Kurus, the Pandavas, and the Somakas fight, along with the high-born kings who had gathered from many lands?"
Version
212d0e2c1ed2 · published Jul 17, 2026, 8:37:17 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The book opens not with a question about the cause of the war, but about the course of the battle itself. Janamejaya asks to be told how so many kings and lineages entered the shared field of destiny. Attention thus shifts at once from the diplomacy of the Udyoga-parva to the living reality of Kurukshetra.