Shloka 1
ऑपन-- माल छा सं: चत्वारिशोड् ध्याय: आर्टिषेण एवं विश्वामित्रकी तपस्या तथा वरप्राप्ति जनमेजय उवाच कथमार्टिषेणो भगवान् विपुलं तप्तवांस्तप: । सिन्धुद्वीप: कथं चापि ब्राह्म॒ण्यं लब्धवांस्तदा,जनमेजयने पूछा--्रह्मन! मुनिश्रेष्ठ! आ्शिषिणने वहाँ किस प्रकार बड़ी भारी तपस्या की थी तथा सिन्धुद्वीप, देवापि और विश्वामित्रजीने किस तरह ब्राह्मणत्व प्राप्त किया था? भगवन्! यह सब मुझे बताइये। इसे जाननेके लिये मेरे मनमें बड़ी भारी उत्सुकता है
janamejaya uvāca | katham ārtiṣeṇo bhagavān vipulaṁ taptavāṁs tapaḥ | sindhudvīpaḥ kathaṁ cāpi brāhmaṇyaṁ labdhavāṁs tadā |
Janamejaya said: “O Brahmin, O foremost of sages, how did the venerable Ārtiṣeṇa perform such vast austerities? And how, at that time, did Sindhudvīpa attain the status of a brāhmaṇa? Tell me all this, for I am seized by a great eagerness to know.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the Mahābhārata’s ethical idea that inner discipline (tapas) and earned spiritual merit can elevate a person’s standing; true ‘brāhmaṇya’ is presented as something that may be attained through rigorous practice and divine/ascetic accomplishment, not merely assumed.
King Janamejaya asks the narrator to explain the backstory: how the revered Ārtiṣeṇa undertook immense austerities and how Sindhudvīpa came to attain brāhmaṇa status. The question sets up an ensuing account of ascetic practice and the granting of boons/recognition.