Shloka 4
Jatāyu’s Resistance, Sītā’s Traces, Kabandha’s Release, and the Path to Sugrīva (Āraṇyaka-parva 263)
दुःशासनस्य कर्णस्य शकुनेश्व मते स्थिता: । एतदाचक्ष्व भगवन् वैशम्पायन पृच्छत:,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:
Duḥśāsanasya Karṇasya Śakuneś ca mate sthitāḥ |
Etad ācakṣva bhagavan Vaiśampāyana pṛcchataḥ ||
Janamejaya said: “O venerable Vaiśampāyana, please tell me this, as I ask: how did the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra—wicked men who acted under the counsel of Duḥśāsana, Karṇa, and Śakuni—conduct themselves toward the Pāṇḍavas while those righteous brothers lived in the forest, delighting the sages with varied discourse and feeding visiting brāhmaṇas from the sun-given inexhaustible vessel until Draupadī had eaten?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical contrast: the Pāṇḍavas uphold dharma through restraint and hospitality even in exile, while the Kauravas, guided by malicious counsel, persist in adharma. It highlights how one’s chosen advisers and intentions shape conduct and moral outcome.
King Janamejaya asks the sage Vaiśampāyana to narrate how the Kauravas behaved toward the Pāṇḍavas during their forest life—specifically when the Pāṇḍavas were sustaining visiting brāhmaṇas from the Sun-given Akṣayapātra, which provided food until Draupadī had eaten.