जनमेजय उवाच
कथितो धार्तराष्ट्राणाम् आर्षः संभव उत्तमः ॥
अमानुषो मानुषाणां भवता ब्रह्मवित्तम ॥
नामधेयानि चाप्य् एषां कथ्यमानानि भागशः ॥
त्वत्तः श्रुतानि मे ब्रह्मन् पाण्डवानां तु कीर्तय ॥
ते हि सर्वे महात्मानो देवराजपराक्रमाः ॥
त्वयैवांशावतरणे देवभागाः प्रकीर्तिताः ॥
तस्माद् इच्छाम्य् अहं श्रोतुम् अतिमानुषकर्मणाम् ॥
तेषाम् आजननं सर्वं वैशंपायन कीर्तय ॥
janamejaya uvāca
kathito dhārtarāṣṭrāṇām ārṣaḥ saṃbhava uttamaḥ ||
amānuṣo mānuṣāṇāṃ bhavatā brahmavittama ||
nāmadheyāni cāpy eṣāṃ kathyamānāni bhāgaśaḥ ||
tvattaḥ śrutāni me brahman pāṇḍavānāṃ tu kīrtaya ||
te hi sarve mahātmāno devarājaparākramāḥ ||
tvayaivāṃśāvataraṇe devabhāgāḥ prakīrtitāḥ ||
tasmād icchāmy ahaṃ śrotum atimānuṣakarmaṇām ||
teṣām ājananaṃ sarvaṃ vaiśaṃpāyana kīrtaya ||
Janamejaya said: 'You have told the wondrous, supreme origin of the sons of Dhritarashtra — the more-than-human birth of men, O best knower of Brahman; and their names, recounted one by one, I have heard from you. Now tell of the Pandavas. For all of them, great of soul, are in valor like the king of the gods, and you yourself, in the account of the descent of the divine portions, declared them to be portions of the gods. Therefore I wish to hear the whole birth of those whose deeds are superhuman — tell it, O Vaishampayana.'
7873e294441a · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:30:27 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here Janamejaya asks to be told of the birth of the Pandavas. Notable is the contrast: the birth of the Kauravas is called 'more-than-human' (born of a lump of flesh), while that of the Pandavas is 'superhuman,' for they are portions (amsha) of the gods themselves descended to earth. Here the Vedic teaching of avataras and amsha-avataras is disclosed: in the age when dharma wavers, divine powers take form among men to restore order. Thus the scripture prepares the account of the wondrous birth of the Pandavas — but first it must reveal the reason why Pandu himself could not beget them: the curse that this chapter relates.