Shloka 1
स्त्रीपर्व — नवमोऽध्यायः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra summons the Kuru women; the city departs in collective lamentation
भीकम (2 अमान नवमो<्ध्याय: धृतराष्ट्रका शोकातुर हो जाना और विदुरजीका उन्हें पुनः शोकनिवारणके लिये उपदेश जनमेजय उवाच गते भगवति व्यासे धृतराष्ट्रो महीपति: । किमचेष्टत विप्रर्षे तन््मे व्याख्यातुमरहसि,जनमेजयने पूछा--विप्रर्ष! भगवान् व्यासके चले जानेपर राजा धुृतराष्ट्रने क्या किया? यह मुझे विस्तारपूर्वक बतानेकी कृपा करें
Janamejaya uvāca | gate bhagavati vyāse dhṛtarāṣṭro mahīpatiḥ | kim aceṣṭata viprarṣe tan me vyākhyātum arhasi ||
Janamejaya said: “O best of Brahmins, after the revered Vyāsa had departed, what did King Dhṛtarāṣṭra do? Please explain it to me in detail.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dhārmic inquiry: a listener seeks a truthful, detailed account from a qualified sage, implying that understanding conduct—especially after calamity—requires careful questioning and authoritative explanation.
After Vyāsa leaves, Janamejaya asks the narrator-sage to describe what Dhṛtarāṣṭra did next—setting up the continuation of the Strī Parva’s account of the Kuru elders’ grief and responses in the post-war aftermath.