Shloka 90
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
पौलोमे भृगुवंशस्य विस्तार: परिकीर्तित: । आस्तीके सर्वनागानां गरुडस्य च सम्भव:,पौष्यपर्वमें उत्तंकके माहात्म्यका वर्णन है। पौलोमपर्वमें भूगुवंशके विस्तारका वर्णन है। आस्तीकपर्वमें सब नागों तथा गरुड़की उत्पत्तिकी कथा है
Paulome bhṛguvaṁśasya vistāraḥ parikīrtitaḥ | Āstīke sarvanāgānāṁ garuḍasya ca sambhavaḥ ||
In the Pauloma section, the expansion and lineage-history of the Bhṛgu clan is recounted. In the Āstīka section, the origin-story of all the Nāgas (serpents) and also of Garuḍa is narrated—thus indicating what each subsequent episode will chiefly describe.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a thematic guide: it frames the epic’s method of teaching dharma through remembered lineages and origin-stories, showing how understanding beginnings (sambhava) and family-lines (vaṁśa) provides moral and cultural context for later events.
The text is outlining the contents of upcoming sections: the Pauloma episode will detail the Bhṛgu clan’s expansion, and the Āstīka episode will narrate the origins of the serpent races and of Garuḍa.