Shloka 1
Guṇa-vibhāga and Prāṇa–Agni–Yoga Upadeśa (गुणविभाग तथा प्राण-अग्नि-योगोपदेश)
््ड् #<+ (9) #::..# #25-१ द्र्याधिकद्विशततमो< ध्याय: उत्तड़कका राजा बृहदश्चवसे धुन्धुका वध करनेके लिये आग्रह मार्कण्डेय उवाच इक्ष्वाकौ संस्थिते राजन् शशाद: पृथिवीमिमाम् । प्राप्त: परमधर्मात्मा सोडयोध्यायां नृपो5भवत्
Mārkaṇḍeya uvāca — Ikṣvākau saṁsthite rājan śaśādaḥ pṛthivīm imām | prāptaḥ paramadharmātmā so ’yodhyāyāṁ nṛpo ’bhavat ||
Mārkaṇḍeya disse: “Ó rei, depois que Ikṣvāku faleceu, seu filho Śaśāda—dotado da mais alta retidão—passou a governar esta mesma terra. Tornou-se o rei que residia em Ayodhyā.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames legitimate kingship as grounded in dharma: succession is not merely hereditary, but ideally marked by the heir’s ‘parama-dharma’—a moral fitness to rule and uphold order on earth.
Mārkaṇḍeya begins a dynastic account: after Ikṣvāku’s death, his son Śaśāda assumes sovereignty over the earth and rules from Ayodhyā, establishing the setting for the subsequent story.