जनमेजय उवाच
कथं पुत्रशतं जज्ञे गान्धार्यां द्विजसत्तम ॥
कियता चैव कालेन तेषाम् आयुश् च किं परम् ॥
कथं चैकः स वैश्यायां धृतराष्ट्रसुतो ऽभवत् ॥
कथं च सदृशीं भार्यां गान्धारीं धर्मचारिणीम् ॥
आनुकूल्ये वर्तमानां धृतराष्ट्रो ऽत्यवर्तत ॥
कथं च शप्तस्य सतः पाण्डोस् तेन महात्मना ॥
समुत्पन्ना दैवतेभ्यः पञ्च पुत्रा महारथाः ॥
एतद् विद्वन् यथावृत्तं विस्तरेण तपोधन ॥
कथयस्व न मे तृप्तिः कथ्यमानेषु बन्धुषु ॥
janamejaya uvāca
kathaṃ putraśataṃ jajñe gāndhāryāṃ dvijasattama ||
kiyatā caiva kālena teṣām āyuś ca kiṃ param ||
kathaṃ caikaḥ sa vaiśyāyāṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrasuto 'bhavat ||
kathaṃ ca sadṛśīṃ bhāryāṃ gāndhārīṃ dharmacāriṇīm ||
ānukūlye vartamānāṃ dhṛtarāṣṭro 'tyavartata ||
kathaṃ ca śaptasya sataḥ pāṇḍos tena mahātmanā ||
samutpannā daivatebhyaḥ pañca putrā mahārathāḥ ||
etad vidvan yathāvṛttaṃ vistareṇa tapodhana ||
kathayasva na me tṛptiḥ kathyamāneṣu bandhuṣu ||
Janamejaya said: "How did a hundred sons come to be born to Gandhari, O best of the twice-born? In what span of time, and what is the limit of their lifespan? And how was that one son of Dhritarashtra born from a vaishya woman? And how did Dhritarashtra transgress against his fitting, obedient wife, the virtuous Gandhari? And how were five sons born to Pandu, cursed by that great sage, from the gods -- great warriors? This, O learned ascetic, tell me in full detail, as it truly happened: I am not satiated when my kinsmen are spoken of."
670be11b6871 · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:30:26 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here Janamejaya, a descendant of this line, eagerly asks for the details of his ancestors' birth. Telling are his words: "I am not satiated when my kinsmen are spoken of" -- an image of reverent attention to the story of one's lineage. Here is the virtue of shravana (listening): the thirst to hear the tale of the great is a sign of a pure heart, and it purifies in turn. Telling too is that the king's questions touch both the miraculous (a hundred sons) and a moral perplexity (how the righteous Dhritarashtra betrayed his faithful wife) -- the listener seeks not only the marvelous but understanding of dharma in the deeds of his forebears. Thus scripture, through the mouth of the questioner, shows a model of how one ought to attend to sacred narrative -- with love, care, and moral attention.