Shloka 4
पाण्डोः प्रेतकार्य-सम्पादनम्
Pāṇḍu’s Funeral Rites and Public Mourning
एतदिच्छाम्यहं श्रोतुमतिमानुषकर्मणाम् । तेषामाजनन सर्व वैशम्पायन कीर्तय,वैशम्पायनजी! वे ऐसे पराक्रम कर दिखाते थे, जो मनुष्योंकी शक्तिके परे हैं; अतः मैं उनके जन्म-सम्बन्धी वृत्तान्तको सम्पूर्णतासे सुनना चाहता हूँ; कृपा करके कहिये
etad icchāmy ahaṃ śrotum atimānuṣa-karmaṇām | teṣām ājananaṃ sarva vaiśampāyana kīrtaya ||
Janamejaya thưa: “Điều ấy chính là điều con muốn được nghe: các bậc ấy, những người làm nên những việc vượt quá tầm thường của nhân loại, đã ra đời như thế nào. Hỡi Vaiśampāyana, xin ngài kể trọn vẹn toàn bộ chuyện về sự sinh ra của họ.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a key epic value: extraordinary power and achievement should be understood through their origins and causes. Janamejaya’s request models disciplined inquiry—seeking a complete account (sarvam) from an authoritative narrator—so that greatness is placed within lineage, responsibility, and the moral framework of the Itihāsa.
In the frame-story, King Janamejaya addresses the sage Vaiśampāyana and asks him to narrate fully the birth-origins of those figures whose deeds seem superhuman. This request prompts the narrator to proceed into genealogies and birth-accounts that explain how such protagonists came into the world.