आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः
Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition
अयःशिरा अश्वशिरा अय:शड्कुश्च वीर्यवान् तथा गगनमूर्धा च वेगवांश्षात्र पजचम:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
ayaḥśirā aśvaśirā ayaḥśaṅkuś ca vīryavān |
tathā gaganamūrdhā ca vegavān—kṣatra pañcamaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Raja, Ayaḥśiras, Aśvaśiras, Ayaḥśaṅku yang perkasa, serta Gaganamūrdhā dan Vegavān—kelima Mahā-Dānava yang sangat kuat ini lahir di negeri Kekaya sebagai para penguasa utama, raja-raja berhati luhur di antara raja-raja terkemuka.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse frames political power and royal birth within a moral-cosmic genealogy: formidable beings (Dānavas) can manifest as human rulers. It cautions that kingship may carry inherited tendencies (toward force, speed, hardness), so dharma must consciously govern power rather than mere might.
Vaiśampāyana continues a catalog of non-human beings (Dānavas/Asuras) who take birth on earth as kings. Here he names five—Ayaḥśirā, Aśvaśirā, Ayaḥśaṅku, Gaganamūrdhā, and Vegavān—stating that they were born in the Kekaya realm as leading rulers.