Shloka 1
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 68 — Sarvadamana’s Childhood and Śakuntalā’s Claim at Court
/ है अर छा | अर-क्रा् - “अत्रि” शब्दसे यहाँ सूर्यको ग्रहण किया गया है। नीलकण्ठने भी यही अर्थ लिया है। अष्टषष्टितमो< ध्याय: राजा दुष्यन्तकी अद्भुत शक्ति तथा राज्यशासनकी क्षमताका वर्णन जनमेजय उवाच त्वत्त: श्रुतमिदं ब्रह्मन् देवदानवरक्षसाम् । अंशावतरणं सम्यग गन्धर्वाप्सरसां तथा,जनमेजय बोले--ब्रह्मन! मैंने आपके मुखसे देवता, दानव, राक्षस, गन्धर्व तथा अप्सराओंके अंशावतरणका वर्णन अच्छी तरह सुन लिया
janamejaya uvāca | tvattaḥ śrutam idaṃ brahman devadānavarakṣasām | aṃśāvataraṇaṃ samyag gandharvāpsarasāṃ tathā ||
Janamejaya sprach: „O Brahmane, ich habe von dir klar den rechten Bericht über die Teilmanifestationen (aṃśāvatāra) unter Göttern, Asuras (Dānavas) und Rākṣasas vernommen, ebenso unter Gandharvas und Apsaras.“
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the epic’s cosmological-historical method: extraordinary figures and lineages are explained through aṃśāvataraṇa—partial manifestations across different classes of beings—inviting the listener to see events as morally and metaphysically grounded rather than random.
Janamejaya, continuing his inquiry, acknowledges that he has already heard the account of partial incarnations among devas, dānavas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, and apsarases, and implicitly prepares the sage to proceed to the next topic (the chapter’s focus on royal power and governance, especially concerning King Duṣyanta).