[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Epic, Poetry, Drama & Narrative](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit) › [The Mahābhārata and its versions](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata) › [The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa) › 3.1.4 # The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 3.1.4 Mahābhārata 3.1.4 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [3.1.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.1.4) ke cainānanvavartanta prāptānvyasanamuttamam | kimāhārāḥ kimācārāḥ kva ca vāso mahātmanām || 4 || > "Janamejaya said, 'O thou foremost of regenerate ones, deceitfully defeated at dice by the sons of Dhritarashtra and their counsellors, incensed by those wicked ones that thus brought about a fierce animosity, and addressed in language that was so cruel, what did the Kuru princes, my ancestors--the sons of Pritha--(then) do? How also did the sons of Pritha, equal unto Sakra in prowess, deprived of affluence and suddenly over whelmed with misery, pass their days in the forest? Who followed the steps of those princes plunged in excess of affliction? And how did those high souled ones bear themselves and derive their sustenance, and where did they put up? And, O illustrious ascetic and foremost of Brahmanas, how did those twelve years (of exile) of those warriors who were slayers of foes, pass away in the forest? And undeserving of pain, how did that princess, the best of her sex, devoted to her husbands, eminently virtuous, and always speaking the truth, endure that painful exile in the forest? O thou of ascetic wealth tell me all this in detail, for, O Brahmana, I desire to hear thee narrate the history of those heroes possessed of abundant prowess and lustre. Truly my curiosity is great.' > — Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1883, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa - [Previous: 3.1.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.1.3) - [Next: 3.1.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.1.5) - [Up: 3.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.1) ## Translations (1) - [The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa~en-ganguli.3.1.3) — Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1883, English ## Commentaries (1) - [Bhāratabhāvadīpa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa!nilakantha.3.1.4) — Nīlakaṇṭha Caturdhara 1650, Sanskrit ## Other recensions (2) - [Southern recension](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa*southern.3.1.4) — Sanskrit - [Vulgate (Nīlakaṇṭha's text)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa*vulgate.3.1.4) — Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.1.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.1.4) · Pramāṇa