Shloka 4
पाण्डोः प्रेतकार्य-सम्पादनम्
Pāṇḍu’s Funeral Rites and Public Mourning
एतदिच्छाम्यहं श्रोतुमतिमानुषकर्मणाम् । तेषामाजनन सर्व वैशम्पायन कीर्तय,वैशम्पायनजी! वे ऐसे पराक्रम कर दिखाते थे, जो मनुष्योंकी शक्तिके परे हैं; अतः मैं उनके जन्म-सम्बन्धी वृत्तान्तको सम्पूर्णतासे सुनना चाहता हूँ; कृपा करके कहिये
etad icchāmy ahaṃ śrotum atimānuṣa-karmaṇām | teṣām ājananaṃ sarva vaiśampāyana kīrtaya ||
Janamejaya sprach: „Dies ist es, was ich zu hören wünsche: wie jene Männer, deren Taten das gewöhnliche menschliche Maß übersteigen, zur Welt kamen. O Vaiśampāyana, trage mir den gesamten Bericht über ihre Geburten vollständig vor.“
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a key epic value: extraordinary power and achievement should be understood through their origins and causes. Janamejaya’s request models disciplined inquiry—seeking a complete account (sarvam) from an authoritative narrator—so that greatness is placed within lineage, responsibility, and the moral framework of the Itihāsa.
In the frame-story, King Janamejaya addresses the sage Vaiśampāyana and asks him to narrate fully the birth-origins of those figures whose deeds seem superhuman. This request prompts the narrator to proceed into genealogies and birth-accounts that explain how such protagonists came into the world.