Shloka 42
वैशम्पायन उवाच लब्ध्वा कृष्णां सैन्धवं द्रावयित्वा विप्रै: सार्ध काम्यकादाश्रमात् ते । मार्कण्डेयाच्छुतवन्तः पुराणं देवर्षीणां चरितं विस्तरेण,वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--राजन! द्रौपदीको पाकर तथा जयद्रथको काम्यक वनसे भगाकर ब्राह्मणोंसहित समस्त पाण्डवोंने मार्कण्डेयजीके मुखसे पुराणकथा और देवताओं तथा ऋषियोंके विस्तृत चरित्र सुनते हुए इसे भी सुना था
vaiśampāyana uvāca—labdhvā kṛṣṇāṃ saindhavaṃ drāvayitvā vipraiḥ sārdhaṃ kāmyakād āśramāt te | mārkaṇḍeyāc chrutavantaḥ purāṇaṃ devarṣīṇāṃ caritaṃ vistareṇa ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Having recovered Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) and having driven away the Sindhu prince (Jayadratha) from the Kāmyaka hermitage, the Pāṇḍavas—together with the brāhmaṇas—heard from Mārkaṇḍeya a purāṇic narration, including in full the accounts of the deeds and lives of the gods and the divine seers. The episode frames their ordeal as a return to dharma: after rescuing the wronged, they seek moral and spiritual grounding through sacred history.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
After setting right an immediate adharma (the abduction/violation involving Draupadī) and repelling the offender, the Pāṇḍavas turn to śravaṇa—listening to sacred narratives from a sage. The verse implies that righteous action should be followed by reflection and instruction, so that strength is guided by dharma and suffering is interpreted through a larger moral-cosmic framework.
The Pāṇḍavas recover Draupadī and drive away Jayadratha from the Kāmyaka hermitage area. Then, accompanied by brāhmaṇas, they listen to Mārkaṇḍeya recount purāṇic stories and detailed accounts of gods and divine seers—setting up a sequence of instructive tales within the forest-exile narrative.