Shloka 14
आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः
Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition
अशोको नाम राजाभूनन््महावीर्योडपराजित: । तस्मादवरजो यस्तु राजन्नश्वपति: स्मृत:
aśoko nāma rājābhūn mahāvīryo 'parājitaḥ | tasmād avarajo yas tu rājan aśvapatiḥ smṛtaḥ ||
Вайшампаяна сказал: «Был царь по имени Ашока, великой доблести и непобедимый. И, о царь, его младшего брата помнили под именем Ашвапати.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse itself is descriptive, but within its larger passage it suggests that political might and worldly success can be linked with fierce, potentially unrighteous impulses; therefore, kingship must be restrained and guided by dharma rather than mere power.
Vaiśaṃpāyana continues a catalog of rulers, stating that a king named Aśoka was undefeated and that his younger brother was known as Aśvapati—part of a broader account connecting certain human kings with the births of powerful non-human beings.