Shloka 15
Śukra’s Ultimatum and Devayānī’s Demand (शुक्र-प्रतिज्ञा तथा देवयानी-वर-याचना)
ब्राह्मणा मानवास्तेषां साड़ं वेदमधारयन् । वेन॑ धृष्णुं नरिष्यन्तं नाभागेक्ष्वाकुमेव च,धन्यं यशस्यमायुष्यं कीर्तयिष्यामि तेडनघ । वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--निष्पाप जनमेजय! अब मैं दक्ष प्रजापति, वैवस्वत मनु, भरत, कुरु, पूर, अजमीढ, यादव, कौरव तथा भरतवंशियोंकी कुल-परम्पराका तुमसे वर्णन करूँगा। उनका कुल परम पवित्र, महान् मंगलकारी तथा धन, यश और आयुकी प्राप्ति करानेवाला है उनमेंसे ब्राह्मणजातीय मानवोंने छहों अंगोंसहित वेदोंको धारण किया। वेन, धृष्णु, नरिष्यन्त, नाभाग, इक्ष्वाकु, कारूष, शर्याति, आठवीं इला, नवें क्षत्रिय-धर्मपरायण पृषपध्र तथा दसवें नाभागारिष्ट--इन दसोंको मनुपुत्र कहा जाता है। मनुके इस पृथ्वीपर पचास पुत्र और हुए
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
brāhmaṇā mānavās teṣāṃ sāḍaṃ vedam adhārayan |
venaṃ dhṛṣṇuṃ nariṣyantaṃ nābhāgekṣvākum eva ca |
dhanyaṃ yaśasyam āyuṣyaṃ kīrtayiṣyāmi te 'n-agha |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Among those descendants of Manu, the Brahmins preserved the Veda together with its six auxiliary disciplines. I shall recount to you—O sinless one—the lineage that is auspicious, fame-bestowing, and life-promoting, beginning with Manu’s sons such as Vena, Dhṛṣṇu, Nariṣyanta, Nābhāga, and Ikṣvāku.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage links social and moral order to the preservation of sacred knowledge: Brahmins are portrayed as upholders of the Veda (with its six Vedāṅgas), and hearing a righteous lineage is presented as auspicious—bestowing prosperity, fame, and longevity—because it reinforces dharma through remembered tradition.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating to King Janamejaya, transitions into a genealogical account of Manu’s descendants. He notes that among them the Brahmins maintained Vedic learning and begins listing prominent sons/figures such as Vena, Dhṛṣṇu, Nariṣyanta, Nābhāga, and Ikṣvāku as he prepares to detail the broader dynastic succession.