Shloka 22
Adhyāya 60: Devagaṇa–Ṛṣi–Prajāpatīnāṃ Sambhavaḥ
Origins of Divine Classes, Sages, and Progenitors
व्यास उवाच कुरूणां पाण्डवानां च यथा भेदो5भवत् पुरा । तदस्मै सर्वमाचक्ष्व यन्मत्त: श्रुववानसि,व्यासजी बोले--वैशम्पायन! पूर्वकालमें कौरवों और पाण्डवोंमें जिस प्रकार फूट पड़ी थी; जिसे तुम मुझसे सुन चुके हो, वह सब इस समय इन राजा जनमेजयको सुनाओ
vyāsa uvāca: kurūṇāṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ ca yathā bhedo 'bhavat purā | tad asmai sarvam ācakṣva yan mattaḥ śrutavān asi ||
Vyāsa said: “O Vaiśampāyana, recount to this King Janamejaya in full how, in former times, the rupture arose between the Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas—everything that you have heard from me.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds responsible transmission of history: the causes of a great familial rupture must be narrated accurately to a ruler, so that ethical and political lessons about dharma, governance, and the consequences of discord can be understood.
Vyāsa instructs Vaiśampāyana to tell King Janamejaya the complete account of how the split between the Kurus (Kauravas) and the Pāṇḍavas arose in earlier times—setting up the detailed narration of the conflict’s origins.