Shloka 64
आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः
Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition
कारूषकाश्न राजान: क्षेमधूर्तिस्तथैव च । श्रुतायुरुद्वहश्चैव बृहत्सेनस्तथैव च,मद्रक, क्णवेष्ट, सिद्धार्थ, कीटक, सुवीर, सुबाहु, महावीर, बाह्लिक, क्रथ, विचित्र, सुरथ, श्रीमान् नील नरेश, चीरवासा, भूमिपाल, दन्तवक्त्र, दानव दुर्जय, नृपश्रेष्ठ रुक्मी, राजा जनमेजय, आषाढ, वायुवेग, भूरितेजा, एकलव्य, सुमित्र, वाटधान, गोमुख, करूषदेशके अनेक राजा, क्षेमधूर्ति, श्रुतायु, उद्वह, बृहत्सेन, क्षेम, उग्रतीर्थ, कलिंग-नरेश कुहर तथा परम बुद्धिमान् मनुष्योंका राजा ईश्वर
vaiśampāyana uvāca | kārūṣakāś ca rājānaḥ kṣemadhūrtis tathaiva ca | śrutāyur udvahaś caiva bṛhatsenas tathaiva ca | madrakaḥ kṛṇaveṣṭaḥ siddhārthaḥ kīṭakaḥ suvīraḥ subāhuḥ mahāvīraḥ bāhlikaḥ krathaḥ vicitraḥ surathaḥ śrīmān nīla-nareśaḥ cīravāsā bhūmipālaḥ dantavaktraḥ dānava-durjayaḥ nṛpaśreṣṭho rukmī rājā janamejayaḥ āṣāḍhaḥ vāyuvegaḥ bhūritejā ekalavyaḥ sumitraḥ vāṭadhānaḥ gomukhaḥ | kārūṣadeśake aneke rājānaḥ kṣemadhūrtiḥ śrutāyuḥ udvahaḥ bṛhatsenaḥ kṣemaḥ ugratīrthaḥ kaliṅga-nareśaḥ kuharaḥ tathā parama-buddhimān manuṣyāṇāṃ rājā īśvaraḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “From the land of Kāruṣa and other regions there came many kings—Kṣemadhūrti; and likewise Śrutāyu, Udvaha, and Bṛhatsena.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a political catalogue: many rulers converge, implying that power is collective and that each king’s choices—alliances, counsel, and conduct—carry dharmic responsibility. The epic frames large-scale conflict not as fate alone but as the sum of decisions made by many leaders.
Vaiśampāyana enumerates kings from Kāruṣa and other regions who have gathered/are being counted among participants in the broader epic events. Such lists typically mark the assembling of forces and the widening scope of the story’s political world.