Adi Parva Adhyaya 67 Shloka 10 - Mahabharata | Lao | Vedapath

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Shloka 10

आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः

Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition

Devanagari script

अयःशिरा अश्वशिरा अय:शड्कुश्च वीर्यवान्‌ तथा गगनमूर्धा च वेगवांश्षात्र पजचम:

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

ayaḥśirā aśvaśirā ayaḥśaṅkuś ca vīryavān |

tathā gaganamūrdhā ca vegavān—kṣatra pañcamaḥ ||

Translation

ໄວສຳປາຍະນະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ອະຍະສິຣະ, ອັດສະວະສິຣະ, ອະຍະສັງກຸຜູ້ມີພະລັງ, ແລະຍັງມີ ກະກະນະມູຣທາ ແລະ ເວກະວານ—ໂອ ພະຣາຊາ—ດານະວະມະຫາອຳນາດທັງຫ້ານີ້ ໄດ້ເກີດໃນແດນເກກະຍະ ເປັນກະສັດຜູ້ມີຈິດໃຫຍ່ ເປັນຫົວໜ້າໃນບັນດາກະສັດສຳຄັນ».

Word by Word

अयःशिराःAyahśirā (Iron-head, a proper name)

अश्वशिराःAśvaśirā (Horse-head, a proper name)

अयःशङ्कुःAyahśaṅku (Iron-spike, a proper name)

चand

वीर्यवान्powerful, possessed of strength

तथाlikewise, also

गगनमूर्धाGaganamūrdhā (Sky-headed, a proper name)

चand

वेगवान्swift, impetuous

पञ्चfive

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Janamejaya (implied by 'rājan')

Ayaḥśirā

Aśvaśirā

Ayaḥśaṅku

Gaganamūrdhā

Vegavān

Kekaya (country)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.