Janamejaya Asks Vaishampayana to Narrate the Pandavas' Origins
Having heard the origins of the Kauravas, King Janamejaya turns his attention to their cousins. He asks the sage Vaishampayana to tell him the story of the Pandavas, who were said to be partial incarnations of the gods.
The king listened. The sage Vaishampayana had just finished recounting the origins of the Kauravas — the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, born into the world through human means. Now, in the quiet of the sacrificial enclosure, Janamejaya spoke again.
He addressed the sage as one who knew the nature of the brahman (the ultimate reality). "You have told me the excellent and superhuman story of the human origins of Dhritarashtra's sons," he said. "You have told me their names in accordance with their birth. Now I wish to hear about the Pandavas."
His interest was specific. The Pandavas were great-souled, equal to the king of the gods in valour. Vaishampayana had mentioned earlier that they were not merely men; they were partial incarnations of the gods themselves. Janamejaya wanted the full account. "O Vaishampayana! I now wish to hear about their origins and their superhuman deeds. Please tell me all."
The request was a pivot. The narrative of the great war, of the conflict that consumed a world, rested on the collision between these two branches of the same family. One story had been told. Now the king demanded the other.
Vaishampayana accepted. He began to speak, and his words immediately turned to a king in the forest, a bow, and a hunt that would set an entire destiny in motion.