Shloka 3
स्त्रीपर्व — नवमोऽध्यायः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra summons the Kuru women; the city departs in collective lamentation
इसी प्रकार कुरुवंशी राजा महामनस्वी धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिने तथा कृप आदि तीनों महारथियोंने क्या किया? ।। अश्वत्थाम्न: श्रुतं कर्म शापश्चान्योन्यकारित: । वृत्तान्तमुत्तरं ब्रूहि यदभाषत संजय:,अश्वत्थामाका कर्म तो मैंने सुन लिया, परस्पर जो शाप दिये गये, उनका हाल भी मालूम हो गया। अब आगेका वृत्तान्त बताइये, जिसे संजयने धृतराष्ट्रको सुनाया हो
janamejaya uvāca | aśvatthāmnaḥ śrutaṃ karma śāpaś cānyonyakāritaḥ | vṛttāntam uttaraṃ brūhi yad abhāṣata sañjayaḥ ||
Janamejaya said: “I have heard of Aśvatthāman’s deed, and I also know how the curses were exchanged between them. Now tell me what happened next—the further account that Sañjaya related to Dhṛtarāṣṭra.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical inquiry after catastrophe: knowing an act and its retaliatory consequences (curses) is not enough; one must also understand the unfolding aftermath as narrated by reliable witnesses, highlighting accountability and the moral continuity of events beyond the battlefield.
Janamejaya, having heard about Aśvatthāman’s deed and the mutual curses, asks for the next part of the story—specifically the continuation that Sañjaya reported to the blind king Dhṛtarāṣṭra.