Shloka 19
Śānti-parva Adhyāya 3: Karṇa’s training under Rāma Jāmadagnya and the Bhārgava restriction on the Brahmāstra
सो<ब्रवीदहमासं प्रागू दंशो नाम महासुर: । पुरा देवयुगे तात भूगोस्तुल्यवया इव,उसने उत्तर दिया--'तात! प्राचीनकालके सत्ययुगकी बात है। मैं दंश नामसे प्रसिद्ध एक महान् असुर था। महर्षि भूगुके बराबर ही मेरी भी अवस्था रही
so 'bravīd aham āsaṃ prāg daṃśo nāma mahāsuraḥ | purā devayuge tāta bhṛgor tulyavayā iva ||
Er erwiderte: „Lieber, in uralter Zeit — im göttlichen Zeitalter von einst — war ich ein mächtiger Asura namens Daṃśa. Damals waren mein Alter und mein Rang, sozusagen, dem des Weisen Bhṛgu vergleichbar.“
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets an ethical-narrative premise: even a powerful Asura can be situated within the same temporal and social horizon as revered sages, preparing the listener to reflect on how conduct (dharma/adharma) rather than birth or power determines moral worth and eventual outcome.
A speaker recounts his former identity: he claims that in an ancient divine age he was a great Asura named Daṃśa, and that his age/status was comparable to the sage Bhṛgu—introducing a backstory that will frame subsequent events and moral reflections.