Shloka 21
Duḥṣanta at Kaṇva-Āśrama; Śakuntalā’s Reception and Origin Prelude (दुःषन्तस्य कण्वाश्रमागमनम्)
जिसे सब लोग भगवान् शंकरके पार्षद श्रीमान् महाकालके नामसे जानते हैं। भारत! दनुके चौंतीस पुत्र हुए, जो सर्वत्र विख्यात हैं
yaṃ sarve lokā bhagavataḥ śaṅkarasya pārṣadaṃ śrīmantaṃ mahākāla-nāmnā jānanti | bhārata! dānaveḥ catustriṃśat putrā babhūvuḥ, ye sarvatra vikhyātāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : « Celui que tous connaissent sous le nom de l’illustre Mahākāla, proche serviteur du bienheureux Seigneur Śaṅkara — ô Bhārata ! — Danu eut trente-quatre fils, renommés en tous lieux. »
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse situates moral and cosmic history through lineage: beings and their reputations are traced to divine associations and ancestral origins, reminding the listener that power and fame arise within an ordered mythic genealogy under divine oversight.
Vaiśampāyana continues a genealogical account: he identifies an illustrious figure known as Mahākāla, an attendant of Śiva, and then states that Danu bore thirty-four sons who became widely renowned (the Dānavas).