Shloka 19
Śānti-parva Adhyāya 3: Karṇa’s training under Rāma Jāmadagnya and the Bhārgava restriction on the Brahmāstra
सो<ब्रवीदहमासं प्रागू दंशो नाम महासुर: । पुरा देवयुगे तात भूगोस्तुल्यवया इव
so 'bravīd aham āsaṃ prāg daṃśo nāma mahāsuraḥ | purā devayuge tāta bhṛgor tulyavayā iva ||
उसने कहा— “तात! प्राचीन देवयुग में मैं दंश नाम का एक महान असुर था। उन दिनों मेरी अवस्था और प्रतिष्ठा मानो महर्षि भृगु के समान ही थी।”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets an ethical-narrative premise: even a powerful Asura can be situated within the same temporal and social horizon as revered sages, preparing the listener to reflect on how conduct (dharma/adharma) rather than birth or power determines moral worth and eventual outcome.
A speaker recounts his former identity: he claims that in an ancient divine age he was a great Asura named Daṃśa, and that his age/status was comparable to the sage Bhṛgu—introducing a backstory that will frame subsequent events and moral reflections.