Shloka 5
पञ्चमहाभूतगुण-इन्द्रियनिग्रह-उपदेशः | Teaching on the Qualities of the Five Elements and Sense-Control
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 ||
“Tu conheces também as histórias divinas dos deuses, dos gandharvas, dos yakṣas, dos kinnaras e das apsaras. Por isso desejo ouvi-lo em sua verdade, ó o mais eminente dos brāhmaṇas: na linhagem de Ikṣvāku, por que o rei vitorioso, célebre como Kuvalāśva, passou a ser chamado pelo nome mudado ‘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’.