Shloka 11
आदि पर्व, अध्याय 96 — काश्यकन्याहरणं, शाल्वसमागमः, अम्बावचनं च
Kāśī princesses taken; encounter with Śālva; Ambā’s declaration
पूरोस्तु भार्या कौसलया नाम । तस्यामस्य जज्ञे जनमेजयो नाम; यस्त्रीनश्वमेधानाजहार, विश्वजिता चेष्टवा वनं विवेश,पूरुकी पत्नीका नाम कौसल्या था (उसीको पौष्टी भी कहते हैं)। उसके गर्भसे पूरुके जनमेजय नामक पुत्र हुआ (इसीका दूसरा नाम प्रवीर है); जिसने तीन अश्वमेध यज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान किया था और विश्वजित् यज्ञ करके वानप्रस्थ आश्रम ग्रहण किया था
pūrostu bhāryā kausalayā nāma | tasyām asya jajñe janamejayo nāma; yas trīn aśvamedhān ājahāra, viśvajitaṃ ceṣṭvā vanaṃ viveśa |
Vaiśampāyana said: Puru had a wife named Kausalyā. Through her he begot a son named Janamejaya. That Janamejaya performed three Aśvamedha sacrifices; and, having also completed the Viśvajit sacrifice, he withdrew to the forest, embracing the life of disciplined renunciation. The passage highlights a royal ideal in which power is legitimized by sacrifice and then relinquished through voluntary retreat, balancing worldly duty with spiritual restraint.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a dharmic model of rulership: a king establishes legitimacy through sanctioned rites (Aśvamedha, Viśvajit) and then practices self-restraint by withdrawing to the forest. It frames power as a duty to be exercised responsibly and ultimately relinquished, not clung to.
Vaiśampāyana continues the genealogical account: Puru’s wife Kausalyā bears Janamejaya, who becomes a notable king by performing three Aśvamedhas and a Viśvajit sacrifice, after which he enters forest life (a vānaprastha-like withdrawal).