Shloka 11
आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः
Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition
पज्चैते जज्ञिरे राजन् वीर्यवन्तो महासुरा: । केकयेषु महात्मान: पार्थिवर्षभसत्तमा: | केतुमानिति विख्यातो यस्ततो<न्य: प्रतापवान्
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
pañcaite jajñire rājan vīryavanto mahāsurāḥ |
kekayeṣu mahātmānaḥ pārthivarṣabhasattamāḥ |
ketumān iti vikhyāto yastato 'nyaḥ pratāpavān |
ayaḥśirā aśvaśirā vīryavān ayaḥśaṅkuḥ |
gaganamūrdhā ca vegavān ||
اے راجَن! یہ پانچ زورآور مہاسُر کیکَیوں میں مہاتما، بادشاہوں میں برگزیدہ—گویا شاہانِ عالم کے سانڈ—بن کر پیدا ہوئے۔ اور ان سے جدا ایک اور صاحبِ شوکت ‘کیتُمان’ کے نام سے مشہور ہوا۔
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse supports a Mahābhārata-wide idea that moral and psychological forces (daivic/asuric tendencies) can manifest through human birth and political power. It cautions that royal greatness in status may coexist with destructive dispositions, shaping later conflicts.
Vaiśampāyana continues a genealogical/cosmological catalogue, telling King Janamejaya that five great Asuras were born among the Kekayas as eminent kings, and he names additional formidable figures such as Ketumān, Ayaḥśiras, Aśvaśiras, Ayaḥśaṅku, and Gaganamūrdhan.