Shloka 29
Tapovana-praveśaḥ — The King’s Entry into the Sacred Grove and Vision of the Āśrama
इह देवत्वमिच्छन्तो मानुषेषु मनस्विन: । जज्षिरे भुवि भूतेषु तेषु तेष्वसुरा विभो,प्रभो! यहीं रहकर देवत्व प्राप्त करनेकी इच्छासे वे मनस्वी असुर भूतलपर मनुष्यों तथा भिन्न-भिन्न प्राणियोंमें जन्म लेने लगे
iha devatvam icchanto mānuṣeṣu manasvinaḥ | jajñire bhuvi bhūteṣu teṣu teṣv asurā vibho prabho ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Remaining here in this world, those resolute Asuras, desiring to attain the status of gods, were born upon the earth among human beings and likewise among various other living creatures.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intense desire for status (devatva) can propel beings into new births and conditions; it implicitly contrasts spiritual elevation with mere ambition for power, suggesting that motives shape one’s trajectory in saṃsāra.
Vaiśampāyana explains that certain Asuras, intent on obtaining godhood, take birth on earth—among humans and other creatures—indicating a purposeful descent into mortal realms as part of a larger cosmic and genealogical unfolding.