Shloka 32

धृतराष्ट्र–दुर्योधन संवादः

Vāraṇāvata-vivāsana-nīti: Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana’s Policy Dialogue

Devanagari script

कथं चास्य सुतो जात: सो<श्चृत्थामास्त्रवित्तम: | एतदिच्छाम्यहं श्रोतुं विस्तरेण प्रकीर्तय

Transliteration

janamejaya uvāca |

kathaṃ cāsya suto jātaḥ so ’śvatthāmāstravittamaḥ |

etad icchāmy ahaṃ śrotuṃ vistareṇa prakīrtaya ||

Translation

ຈະນະເມຊະຍະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ແລ້ວລູກຊາຍຂອງລາວ—ອັສວັດຖາມາ, ຜູ້ເປັນເລີດໃນບັນດາຜູ້ຮູ້ວິຊາອາວຸດ—ເກີດມາແນວໃດ? ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າປາຖະໜາຟັງໃຫ້ລະອຽດ; ຂໍໃຫ້ທ່ານເລົ່າໃຫ້ຄົບຖ້ວນ».

Word by Word

• {'katham': 'how?', 'ca': 'and', 'asya': 'of him, his', 'sutaḥ': 'son', 'jātaḥ': 'born, came into being', 'saḥ': 'he, that one', 'aśvatthāmā': 'Aśvatthāmā (name of Droṇa’s son)', 'astra': 'missile-weapon

• weapon used with mantras/technique', 'vittamaḥ': 'best knower

• most skilled/learned', 'etat': 'this', 'icchāmi': 'I desire, I wish', 'aham': 'I', 'śrotum': 'to hear', 'vistareṇa': 'in detail, at length', 'prakīrtaya': 'recount, narrate, proclaim'}

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• Aśvatthāmā

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the itihāsa method: respectful inquiry prompts detailed transmission of knowledge, especially about lineage and the sources of exceptional skill (here, mastery of astras).

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya asks the narrator to explain, in detail, how Aśvatthāmā—renowned as a supreme knower of weapons—was born, continuing the genealogical and character-focused narration of the epic.