Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 57
प्रतर्दनो दिवोदास: सुदास: कोसलेश्वर: । ऐलो नलश्न राजर्षिमिनुश्चैव प्रजापति:
pratardano divodāsaḥ sudāsaḥ kosaleśvaraḥ | ailo nalaś ca rājarṣir manuś caiva prajāpatiḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Hear further the names of these royal sages: Pratardana; Divodāsa; Sudāsa, lord of Kosala; Aila (Purūravas); King Nala; and Manu, the Prajāpati. These, and the other ancient and meritorious kings celebrated in the Purāṇas, are worthy of remembrance. Whoever rises each day, purified by bathing, and recites these names in the morning and in the evening becomes a sharer in the fruits of dharma.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Remembering and reciting the names of exemplary dharmic rulers is presented as a meritorious practice: it cultivates reverence for righteous kingship and makes the reciter a participant in the fruits of dharma.
Bhīṣma continues a catalog of ancient royal sages, naming several renowned kings and Manu, and concludes with the injunction that daily, purified recitation of such names at dawn and dusk yields religious merit.