Shloka 5
देवगन्धर्वयक्षाणां किन्नराप्सरसां तथा । द्विजश्रेष्ठ॒ इस लोकमें कोई ऐसी वस्तु नहीं जो आपसे अज्ञात हो। मुने! आप मनुष्य, नाग, राक्षस, देवता, गन्धर्व, यक्ष, किन्नर तथा अप्सराओंकी भी दिव्य कथाएँ जानते हैं ।। ४ हे || इदमिच्छाम्यहं श्रीतुं तत््वेन द्विजसत्तम,“विप्रवर! अब मैं यथार्थरूपसे यह सुनना चाहता हूँ कि इक्ष्वाकुवंशमें जो कुवलाश्व नामसे विख्यात विजयी राजा हो गये हैं, वे क्यों नाम बदलकर “धुन्धुमार' कहलाने लगे?
devagandharvayakṣāṇāṁ kinnarāpsarasāṁ tathā | dvijaśreṣṭha imas loke na kiñcid asti yad bhavataḥ ajñātam | mune! tvaṁ manuṣya-nāga-rākṣasa-devatā-gandharva-yakṣa-kinnara-apsarasāṁ divyāḥ kathā api jānāsi || idam icchāmy ahaṁ śrotuṁ tattvena dvijasattama | vipravara! ikṣvākuvaṁśe yaḥ kuvalāśva-nāmnā vikhyātaḥ vijayī rājābhūt sa kasmān nāma parivartya “dhundhumāra” iti kathyate ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O best of twice-born, in this world there is nothing that is unknown to you. O sage, you know the divine histories of humans, nāgas, rākṣasas, gods, gandharvas, yakṣas, kinnaras, and apsarases as well. Therefore I wish to hear this in its true form, O foremost of brāhmaṇas: in the Ikṣvāku line, why did the victorious king famed as Kuvalāśva come to be called by the changed name ‘Dhundhumāra’?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ideal of authoritative knowledge in dharma-narratives: a true teacher is portrayed as one who knows the traditions across many realms and beings, and the student seeks ‘tattva’—the factual, principled account—especially when a name change signals a morally significant deed.
The speaker praises a sage/brāhmaṇa as all-knowing regarding divine and semi-divine histories, then asks a specific genealogical question: why the Ikṣvāku king known as Kuvalāśva became famous under the new epithet/name ‘Dhundhumāra’.