Shloka 94
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
दैत्यानां दानवानां च यक्षाणां च महौजसाम् । नागानामथ सर्पाणां गन्धर्वाणां पतत्त्रिणाम्,इसी पर्वमें अत्यन्त प्रभावशाली दैत्य, दानव, यक्ष, नाग, सर्प, गन्धर्व और पक्षियों तथा अन्य विविध प्रकारके प्राणियोंकी उत्पत्तिका वर्णन है। परम तपस्वी महर्षि कण्वके आश्रममें दुष्यन्तके द्वारा शकुन्तलाके गर्भसे भरतके जन्मकी कथा भी इसीमें है। उन्हीं महात्मा भरतके नामसे यह भरतवंश संसारमें प्रसिद्ध हुआ है
daityānāṁ dānavānāṁ ca yakṣāṇāṁ ca mahaujasām | nāgānām atha sarpāṇāṁ gandharvāṇāṁ patattriṇām |
Here is described the origin of many kinds of powerful beings—Daityas and Dānavas, mighty Yakṣas, Nāgas and serpents, Gandharvas, and birds. In this same section is also narrated the birth of Bharata, born to Śakuntalā through King Duṣyanta in the hermitage of the great ascetic Maharṣi Kaṇva. From that illustrious Bharata, the lineage came to be celebrated in the world as the Bhārata dynasty.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage foregrounds two linked ideas: (1) the vast diversity of beings in the cosmos, each with its own origin, and (2) the moral-cultural importance of lineage—Bharata’s birth becomes the naming point for the Bhārata dynasty, showing how personal virtue, rightful kingship, and remembered ancestry shape collective identity.
The text signals a section that recounts the origins of various powerful classes of beings (Daityas, Dānavas, Yakṣas, Nāgas, serpents, Gandharvas, and birds). It also points to the well-known episode in which King Duṣyanta fathers Bharata with Śakuntalā at Maharṣi Kaṇva’s hermitage, and explains that the dynasty later becomes famous by Bharata’s name.