Shloka 15
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 90 — Pūror Vaṃśa, Kuru-Pravara, and the Janamejaya Line
Genealogical Recitation
ययातिरुवाच राजाहमासमिह सार्वभौम- स्ततो लोकान् महतश्चलाजयं वै | तत्रावसं वर्षसहस्रमात्र ततो लोकं परमस्म्यभ्युपेत:,ययातिने कहा--अष्टक! मैं पहले समस्त भूमण्डलमें प्रसिद्ध चक्रवर्ती राजा था। तदनन्तर सत्कर्मोद्वारा बड़े-बड़े लोकोंपर मैंने विजय प्राप्त की और उनमें एक हजार वर्षोतक निवास किया। इसके बाद उनसे भी उच्चतम लोकमें जा पहुँचा
yayātir uvāca rājāham āsam iha sārvabhaumaḥ tato lokān mahataś ca lājayam vai | tatrāvasaṃ varṣasahasramātraṃ tato lokaṃ param asmy abhyupetaḥ ||
Yayāti said: “Aṣṭaka, in this very world I was once a universal sovereign king. Thereafter, by the power of meritorious deeds, I attained victory over great celestial realms and dwelt in them for a thousand years. Then, rising beyond even those, I reached a still higher, supreme world.”
अष्टक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly sovereignty and even heavenly enjoyments are presented as results of karma and merit, yet they remain finite and gradated; the verse underscores the ethical idea that achievements—political or celestial—are attained through deeds but are not ultimate or permanent.
Yayāti addresses Aṣṭaka, recounting his past: he was a universal emperor on earth, then through meritorious action attained and ‘conquered’ great heavenly realms, lived there for a thousand years, and afterward reached an even higher realm—setting the stage for reflection on the nature and limits of such attainments.