Shloka 1
Bhīmasena’s Eastern Digvijaya and the Cedi Reception
Sabhā-parva 26
जनमेजय बोले--ब्रह्मन्! दिग्विजयका विस्तार-पूर्वक वर्णन कीजिये। अपने पूर्वजोंके इस महान् चरित्रको सुनते-सुनते मेरी तृप्ति नहीं हो रही है
Janamejaya uvāca—Brahman! digvijayasya vistāra-pūrvakaṃ varṇanaṃ kuru. Pūrvajānāṃ etat mahac-caritraṃ śṛṇvataḥ śṛṇvataś ca mama tṛptir na bhavati.
Janamejaya said: “O Brahmin, describe in full detail the conquest of the quarters. As I keep hearing of this great deed of my forefathers, my satisfaction is still not fulfilled.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the value placed on attentive listening to ancestral history (itihāsa) and the desire to understand royal duty and achievement through detailed narration, suggesting that exemplary deeds are meant to be heard, reflected upon, and preserved.
Within the frame dialogue, King Janamejaya requests the Brahmin narrator to expand the account of the digvijaya—an all-direction campaign of conquest—because he remains unsated by hearing of his forefathers’ great exploits.