Shloka 10
पञ्चमहाभूतगुण-इन्द्रियनिग्रह-उपदेशः | Teaching on the Qualities of the Five Elements and Sense-Control
यथा स राजा इक्ष्वाकु: कुवलाश्वो महीपति: । धुन्धुमारत्वमगमत् तच्छृणुष्व महीपते,महाराज! इक्ष्वाकुवंशी राजा कुवलाश्व जिस प्रकार धुन्धुमार नामसे विख्यात हुए, वह सब श्रवण करो
yathā sa rājā ikṣvākuḥ kuvalāśvo mahīpatiḥ | dhundhumāratvam agamat tac chṛṇuṣva mahīpate mahārāja |
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “O great king, listen as I tell you how that sovereign Kuvalāśva of the Ikṣvāku line came to be renowned by the name Dhundhumāra.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical kingship through reputation earned by decisive action: a ruler’s true renown arises from protecting the world and confronting destructive forces, so that a name becomes a moral marker of duty fulfilled.
Mārkaṇḍeya begins a tale addressed to a king, introducing Kuvalāśva of the Ikṣvāku line and announcing that he will explain how Kuvalāśva came to be celebrated under the epithet ‘Dhundhumāra’.