Shloka 53
आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः
Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition
षष्ठस्तु मतिमान् यो वै तेषामासीन्महासुर: । अभीरुरिति विख्यात: क्षितौ राजर्षिसत्तम:,उन कालेयोंमें जो छठा महान् असुर था, वह भूमण्डलमें राजर्षिशिरोमणि अभीरुके नामसे प्रसिद्ध हुआ
ṣaṣṭhas tu matimān yo vai teṣām āsīn mahāsuraḥ | abhīrur iti vikhyātaḥ kṣitau rājarṣi-sattamaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Unter jenen (Kāleyas) war der Sechste ein großer, kluger Asura. Auf Erden wurde er unter dem Namen Abhīru berühmt, gerühmt als hervorragender Königsweiser (rājaṛṣi).
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical idea that status and reputation in the human world can be shaped by conduct and role: even one described as an Asura can become known as a rājarṣi, suggesting the complexity of moral identity beyond birth or origin.
Vaiśampāyana continues a genealogical/accounting passage about the Kāleyas, identifying the sixth among them as a great Asura who, on earth, became famous as Abhīru and was regarded as an eminent royal sage.