Shloka 133
येषामपरिमेयानि नामधेयानि सर्वश: । तेषां तु ते यथामुख्यं कीर्तयिष्यामि भारत । महाभागान् देवकल्पान् सत्यार्जवपरायणान्,भरतके कुलमें देवताओंके समान महापराक्रमी तथा ब्रह्माजीके समान तेजस्वी बहुत- से राजर्षि हो गये हैं; जिनके सम्पूर्ण नामोंकी गणना असम्भव है। जनमेजय! इनमें जो मुख्य हैं, उन्हींके नामोंका तुमसे वर्णन करूँगा। वे सभी महाभाग नरेश देवताओंके समान तेजस्वी तथा सत्य, सरलता आदि धर्मामें तत्पर रहनेवाले थे
yeṣām aparimeyāni nāmadheyāni sarvaśaḥ | teṣāṃ tu te yathāmukhyaṃ kīrtayiṣyāmi bhārata || mahābhāgān devakalpān satyārjavaparāyaṇān |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O Bhārata, the names of those kings are countless in every respect. Yet I shall recount to you, in due order, the foremost among them—high-souled rulers, godlike in splendor, steadfast in truth and uprightness, and devoted to the path of dharma.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Excellence in rulership is framed as ethical excellence: the foremost kings are remembered not merely for power but for godlike nobility grounded in satya (truthfulness) and ārjava (upright integrity), i.e., devotion to dharma.
Vaiśaṃpāyana transitions into a selective genealogy: since the total list of royal names is too vast to enumerate, he promises to name only the principal, most prominent rulers and characterize them as virtuous and godlike.