Shloka 23
आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः
Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition
चित्रधर्मेति विख्यात: क्षितावासीत् स पार्थिव: । हरस्त्वरिहरो वीर आसीद्ू यो दानवोत्तम:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
citradharmeti vikhyātaḥ kṣitāv āsīt sa pārthivaḥ |
haras tv ariharo vīra āsīd yo dānavottamaḥ ||
ವೈಶಂಪಾಯನನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಭೂಮಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಚಿತ್ರಧರ್ಮ’ ಎಂಬ ಹೆಸರಿನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧನಾದ ಒಬ್ಬ ರಾಜನು ಇದ್ದನು. ಮತ್ತು ಶತ್ರುಗಳನ್ನು ಸಂಹರಿಸುವ ವೀರ ದಾನವೋತ್ತಮ ‘ಹರ’—ಅವನೇ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅದೇ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಆ ರಾಜನಾಗಿ ಜನ್ಮಿಸಿದನು.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a Mahābhārata theme: worldly politics is intertwined with a larger moral-cosmic drama. When powerful asuric beings take human birth as kings, their strength can intensify rivalry and violence, making righteous governance (dharma) harder and more necessary.
Vaiśampāyana continues a catalog describing how various dānavas/asuras were born on earth as human rulers. Here he identifies the king named Citradharma as the earthly birth of the dānava Hara, famed for destroying enemies.