Mahabharata 11.9.3 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 9, 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? ।।
janamejaya uvāca | aśvatthāmnaḥ śrutaṃ karma śāpaś cānyonyakāritaḥ | vṛttāntam uttaraṃ brūhi yad abhāṣata sañjayaḥ ||
ಜನಮೇಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು— ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥಾಮನ ಕೃತ್ಯವನ್ನು ನಾನು ಕೇಳಿದ್ದೇನೆ; ಪರಸ್ಪರ ನೀಡಿದ ಶಾಪಗಳ ವಿಷಯವೂ ನನಗೆ ತಿಳಿದಿದೆ. ಈಗ ಮುಂದಿನ ವೃತ್ತಾಂತವನ್ನು ಹೇಳು—ಸಂಜಯನು ಧೃತರಾಷ್ಟ್ರನಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದುದನ್ನು।
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.
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