जनमेजय उवाच
एवं द्यूतजिताः पार्थाः कोपिताश् च दुरात्मभिः ॥
धार्तराष्ट्रैः सहामात्यैर् निकृत्या द्विजसत्तम ॥
श्राविताः परुषा वाचः सृजद्भिर् वैरम् उत्तमम् ॥
किम् अकुर्वन्त कौरव्या मम पूर्वपितामहाः ॥
कथं चैश्वर्यविभ्रष्टाः सहसा दुःखम् एयुषः ॥
वने विजह्रिरे पार्थाः शक्रप्रतिमतेजसः ॥
के चैनान् अन्ववर्तन्त प्राप्तान् व्यसनम् उत्तमम् ॥
किमाहाराः किमाचाराः क्व च वासो महात्मनाम् ॥
कथं द्वादश वर्षाणि वने तेषां महात्मनाम् ॥
व्यतीयुर् ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठ शूराणाम् अरिघातिनाम् ॥
कथं च राजपुत्री सा प्रवरा सर्वयोषिताम् ॥
पतिव्रता महाभागा सततं सत्यवादिनी ॥
वनवासम् अदुःखार्हा दारुणं प्रत्यपद्यत ॥
एतद् आचक्ष्व मे सर्वं विस्तरेण तपोधन ॥
श्रोतुम् इच्छामि चरितं भूरिद्रविणतेजसाम् ॥
कथ्यमानं त्वया विप्र परं कौतूहलं हि मे ॥
janamejaya uvāca
evaṃ dyūtajitāḥ pārthāḥ kopitāś ca durātmabhiḥ ||
dhārtarāṣṭraiḥ sahāmātyair nikṛtyā dvijasattama ||
śrāvitāḥ paruṣā vācaḥ sṛjadbhir vairam uttamam ||
kim akurvanta kauravyā mama pūrvapitāmahāḥ ||
kathaṃ caiśvaryavibhraṣṭāḥ sahasā duḥkham eyuṣaḥ ||
vane vijahrire pārthāḥ śakrapratimatejasaḥ ||
ke cainān anvavartanta prāptān vyasanam uttamam ||
kimāhārāḥ kimācārāḥ kva ca vāso mahātmanām ||
kathaṃ dvādaśa varṣāṇi vane teṣāṃ mahātmanām ||
vyatīyur brāhmaṇaśreṣṭha śūrāṇām arighātinām ||
kathaṃ ca rājaputrī sā pravarā sarvayoṣitām ||
pativratā mahābhāgā satataṃ satyavādinī ||
vanavāsam aduḥkhārhā dāruṇaṃ pratyapadyata ||
etad ācakṣva me sarvaṃ vistareṇa tapodhana ||
śrotum icchāmi caritaṃ bhūridraviṇatejasām ||
kathyamānaṃ tvayā vipra paraṃ kautūhalaṃ hi me ||
Janamejaya said: "O best of brahmins, when the Parthas were deceitfully defeated at dice, insulted with cruel words, and driven by the sons of Dhritarashtra together with their counselors into great enmity, what did my forefathers the Kauravas do? How did these heroes, equal to Indra in splendor, suddenly stripped of royal majesty, live in the forest? Who followed them, what did they eat, how did they conduct themselves, and where did they dwell? How did twelve years pass for these great souls, conquerors of their foes? And how did the princess Draupadi, the foremost of women, devoted to her husbands, truthful and worthy of happiness, endure the harsh exile in the forest? Tell me all this in detail: I long to hear of the life of these mighty and generous heroes."
2debe0df49be · प्रकाशित 16 जुल॰ 2026, 4:33:27 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Janamejaya's question sets the tone for the whole Vana-parva: on the surface it concerns defeat, but at its heart it asks how dharma lives on after power is lost. The forest becomes not the end of the story but a place of testing, where one sees who holds to truth without throne, wealth, or public glory.