Shloka 2
Jatāyu’s Resistance, Sītā’s Traces, Kabandha’s Release, and the Path to Sugrīva (Āraṇyaka-parva 263)
सूर्यदत्ताक्षयान्नेव कृष्णाया भोजनावधि । ब्राह्मणांस्तर्पमाणेषु ये चान्नार्थमुपागता:,जनमेजयने पूछा--महामुनि वैशम्पायनजी! जब महात्मा पाण्डव इस प्रकार वनमें रहकर मुनियोंके साथ विचित्र कथा-वार्ताद्वारा मनोरग्जन करते थे तथा जबतक द्रौपद्री भोजन न कर ले, तबतक सूर्यके दिये हुए अक्षयपात्रसे प्राप्त होनेवाले अन्नसे वे उन ब्राह्मणोंको तृप्त करते थे, जो भोजनके लिये उनके पास आये होते थे; उन दिनों दुःशासन, कर्ण और शकुनिके मतके अनुसार चलनेवाले पापाचारी दुरात्मा दुर्योधन आदि धृतराष्ट्रपुत्रोंने उन पाण्डवोंके साथ कैसा बर्ताव किया? भगवन! मेरे प्रश्नके अनुसार ये सब बातें कहिये
Janamejaya uvāca |
sūryadattākṣayānneva kṛṣṇāyā bhojanāvadhi |
brāhmaṇāṁstarpamāṇeṣu ye cānnārthamupāgatāḥ ||
Janamejaya said: “O great sage Vaiśampāyana, while the righteous Pāṇḍavas were living in the forest, delighting the sages with varied tales and conversation, they would, until Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) had eaten, satisfy with food from the inexhaustible vessel granted by the Sun all the brāhmaṇas who came seeking a meal. During that time, how did the wicked sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra—Duryodhana and the rest—acting under the counsel of Duḥśāsana, Karṇa, and Śakuni, behave toward the Pāṇḍavas? Please tell everything in accordance with my question.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma through hospitality: even in exile, the Pāṇḍavas prioritize feeding brāhmaṇas, using the Sun-given inexhaustible vessel with the ethical constraint that it yields food until Draupadī has eaten—showing disciplined generosity rather than indulgence.
Janamejaya asks Vaiśampāyana to describe how Duryodhana and the other Kauravas, influenced by Duḥśāsana, Karṇa, and Śakuni, acted toward the Pāṇḍavas during the period when the Pāṇḍavas lived in the forest and regularly fed visiting brāhmaṇas from the Akṣayapātra.