Shloka 14
Jarītā–Śārṅgā-saṃvāda: Ākhu-haraṇa and the Approach of Agni (आखुहरणं अग्न्यागमनश्च)
एतदू विस्तरशो ब्रह्माछ्छोतुमिच्छामि तत्त्वत: । खाण्डवस्य पुरा दाहो यथा समभवन्मुने,ब्रह्मन! मुने! पूर्वकालमें खाण्डववनका दाह जिस प्रकार हुआ, वह सब विस्तारके साथ मैं ठीक-ठीक सुनना चाहता हूँ
etad u vistaraso brahman śrotum icchāmi tattvataḥ | khāṇḍavasya purā dāho yathā samabhavan mune ||
Janamejaya said: “O Brahmin sage, I wish to hear this in full detail and in accordance with the truth—how, in former times, the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest came to pass.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds a dharmic approach to tradition: a listener should seek a truthful, complete account (tattvataḥ, vistarasaḥ) rather than rumor or partial narration, emphasizing integrity in historical-ethical memory.
King Janamejaya requests the sage to narrate, in full and accurately, the earlier event known as the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest—setting up the detailed account of how that conflagration occurred.