Shloka 52
Śakuntalā-Janma-Nāmakaraṇa (Birth and Naming of Śakuntalā) | शकुन्तला-जन्म-नामकरणम्
वरुणस्य भार्या या ज्येष्ठा शुक्राद् देवी व्यजायत । तस्या: पुत्र बल॑ विद्धि सुरां च सुरनन्दिनीम्,कमलोंमें निवास करनेवाली शुभस्वरूपा लक्ष्मीदेवी उन दोनोंकी बहिन हैं। आकाशमें विचरनेवाले अश्व लक्ष्मीदेवीके मानस पुत्र हैं। राजन! वरुणके बीजसे उनकी ज्येष्ठ पत्नी देवीने एक पुत्र और एक पुत्रीको जन्म दिया। उसके पुत्रको तो बल और देवनन्दिनी पुत्रीको सुरा समझो
varuṇasya bhāryā yā jyeṣṭhā śukrād devī vyajāyata | tasyāḥ putraṃ balaṃ viddhi surāṃ ca suranandinīm |
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Varuṇas älteste Gemahlin, eine göttliche Frau, empfing durch Śukra. Wisset: Ihr Sohn ist Bala, und ihre Tochter Surā, die Wonne der Götter.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily serves a genealogical purpose: it anchors later mythic and narrative developments by clearly stating origins and relationships among divine figures. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s broader method of grounding authority and identity in lineage and recognized sources.
Vaiśampāyana continues a catalog of divine births, explaining that Varuṇa’s eldest wife, through Śukra, bore two children: a son named Bala and a daughter named Surā, praised as ‘the delight of the gods’ (Suranandinī).