Shloka 2
Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 1 — The Pandavas’ Exit from Gajasāhvaya and the Citizens’ Lament (जनमेजयप्रश्नः; पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानम्)
श्राविता: परुषा वाच: सृजद्धिर्वैरमुत्तमम् । किमकुर्वत कौरव्या मम पूर्वपितामहा:,जनमेजयने पूछा--विप्रवर! मन्त्रियोंसहित धृतराष्ट्रके दुरात्मा पुत्रोंने जब इस प्रकार कपट॒पूर्वक कुन्तीकुमारोंको जूएमें हगाकर कुपित कर दिया और घोर वैरकी नींव डालते हुए उन्हें अत्यन्त कठोर बातें सुनायीं, तब मेरे पूर्वपितामह युधिष्ठिर आदि कुरुवंशियोंने क्या किया?
śrāvitāḥ paruṣā vācaḥ sṛjaddhir vairam uttamam | kim akurvata kauravyā mama pūrva-pitāmahāḥ ||
Janamejaya berkata: “Wahai Brahmana termulia, setelah mereka melontarkan kata-kata yang amat keras—yang kian menyalakan permusuhan—dan dengan tipu daya mengalahkan para Pārtha dalam permainan dadu hingga membangkitkan amarah mereka, apa yang dilakukan para leluhurku, para Kuru seperti Yudhiṣṭhira, pada saat itu?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how deceitful provocation and cruel speech can deliberately manufacture deep hostility; ethically, it points to the grave consequences of adharma—especially manipulation and verbal violence—in escalating conflict within a family and polity.
Janamejaya asks the sage to narrate what the Kuru elders/forefathers (notably Yudhiṣṭhira and the Pāṇḍavas) did after the Kauravas, aided by advisers, lured them into the dice episode and insulted them with harsh words, thereby planting the seeds of a terrible feud.