Shloka 32

धृतराष्ट्र–दुर्योधन संवादः

Vāraṇāvata-vivāsana-nīti: Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana’s Policy Dialogue

Devanagari script

कथं चास्य सुतो जात: सो<श्चृत्थामास्त्रवित्तम: | एतदिच्छाम्यहं श्रोतुं विस्तरेण प्रकीर्तय,साथ ही अस्त्र-शस्त्रके विद्वानोंमें श्रेष्ठ अश्वत्थामा, जो द्रोणका पुत्र था, कैसे उत्पन्न हुआ? यह सब मैं सुनना चाहता हूँ। आप विस्तारपूर्वक कहिये

Transliteration

janamejaya uvāca |

kathaṃ cāsya suto jātaḥ so ’śvatthāmāstravittamaḥ |

etad icchāmy ahaṃ śrotuṃ vistareṇa prakīrtaya ||

Translation

Janamejaya said: “And how was his son born—Aśvatthāmā, foremost among those who know the science of weapons? I wish to hear this in detail; please recount it fully.”

Word by Word

• {'katham': 'how?', 'ca': 'and', 'asya': 'of him, his', 'sutaḥ': 'son', 'jātaḥ': 'born, came into being', 'saḥ': 'he, that one', 'aśvatthāmā': 'Aśvatthāmā (name of Droṇa’s son)', 'astra': 'missile-weapon

• weapon used with mantras/technique', 'vittamaḥ': 'best knower

• most skilled/learned', 'etat': 'this', 'icchāmi': 'I desire, I wish', 'aham': 'I', 'śrotum': 'to hear', 'vistareṇa': 'in detail, at length', 'prakīrtaya': 'recount, narrate, proclaim'}

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• Aśvatthāmā

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the itihāsa method: respectful inquiry prompts detailed transmission of knowledge, especially about lineage and the sources of exceptional skill (here, mastery of astras).

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya asks the narrator to explain, in detail, how Aśvatthāmā—renowned as a supreme knower of weapons—was born, continuing the genealogical and character-focused narration of the epic.