Text 24
yudhiṣṭhiras tu taṁ dṛṣṭvā
yamau kṛṣṇārjunāv api
abhivādyābhavaṁs tuṣṇīṁ
kiṁ vivakṣur ihāgataḥ
yudhiṣṭhiraḥ — King Yudhiṣṭhira; tu — but; tam — Him, Lord Balarāma; dṛṣṭvā — seeing; yamau — the twin brothers, Nakula and Sahadeva; kṛṣṇa-arjunau — Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna; api — also; abhivādya — offering obeisances; abhavan — they were; tuṣṇīm — silent; kim — what; vivakṣuḥ — intending to say; iha — here; āgataḥ — has come.
When Yudhiṣṭhira, Lord Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna and the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva saw Lord Balarāma, they offered Him respectful obeisances but said nothing, thinking “What has He come here to tell us?”
Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “The reason they were silent was that Lord Balarāma was somewhat affectionate toward Duryodhana, who had learned from Balarāmajī the art of fighting with a club. Thus, when the fighting was going on, King Yudhiṣṭhira and the others thought that Balarāma might have come there to say something in favor of Duryodhana, and therefore they remained silent.”