Shloka 19
Śānti-parva Adhyāya 3: Karṇa’s training under Rāma Jāmadagnya and the Bhārgava restriction on the Brahmāstra
सो<ब्रवीदहमासं प्रागू दंशो नाम महासुर: । पुरा देवयुगे तात भूगोस्तुल्यवया इव
so 'bravīd aham āsaṃ prāg daṃśo nāma mahāsuraḥ | purā devayuge tāta bhṛgor tulyavayā iva ||
ਉਸ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ— “ਤਾਤ, ਪ੍ਰਾਚੀਨ ਦੇਵ-ਯੁਗ ਵਿੱਚ ਮੈਂ ‘ਦੰਸ਼’ ਨਾਮ ਦਾ ਇੱਕ ਮਹਾ ਅਸੁਰ ਸੀ। ਉਹਨਾਂ ਦਿਨਾਂ ਮੇਰੀ ਉਮਰ ਅਤੇ ਮਰਤਬਾ, ਮਾਨੋ, ਰਿਸ਼ੀ ਭ੍ਰਿਗੁ ਦੇ ਸਮਾਨ ਸੀ।”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets an ethical-narrative premise: even a powerful Asura can be situated within the same temporal and social horizon as revered sages, preparing the listener to reflect on how conduct (dharma/adharma) rather than birth or power determines moral worth and eventual outcome.
A speaker recounts his former identity: he claims that in an ancient divine age he was a great Asura named Daṃśa, and that his age/status was comparable to the sage Bhṛgu—introducing a backstory that will frame subsequent events and moral reflections.