Mahabharata 1.60.19 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 60, Shloka 19
Adhyāya 60: Devagaṇa–Ṛṣi–Prajāpatīnāṃ Sambhavaḥ
Origins of Divine Classes, Sages, and Progenitors
कथं समभवद् भेदस्तेषामक्लिष्टकर्मणाम् । तच्च युद्ध कथं वृत्तं भूतान्तकरणं महत्
Janamejaya uvāca | kathaṁ samabhavad bhedas teṣām akliṣṭa-karmaṇām | tac ca yuddhaṁ kathaṁ vṛttaṁ bhūtānta-karaṇaṁ mahat ||
അവർ അക്ലിഷ്ടകർമ്മികൾ, ധർമ്മകർമ്മനിരതർ ആയിരുന്നു; എന്നിട്ടും അവരിൽ ഭേദബുദ്ധി എങ്ങനെ ഉദിച്ചു? കൂടാതെ അനേകം ജീവികളുടെ അന്ത്യം വരുത്തിയ ആ മഹായുദ്ധം എങ്ങനെ സംഭവിച്ചു?
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral problem central to the Mahābhārata: even those reputed for blameless conduct can fall into division, and unchecked division can culminate in catastrophic violence. It invites inquiry into the subtle causes—misjudgment, partiality, ambition, and failures of dharma—that can erode unity.
King Janamejaya, hearing the history, asks the narrator to explain two linked matters: (1) how a split arose among otherwise righteous people, and (2) how that split escalated into a vast, life-ending war. The question sets up a causal account of the conflict’s origins and progression.
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