Śakuntalā-Janma-Nāmakaraṇa (Birth and Naming of Śakuntalā) | शकुन्तला-जन्म-नामकरणम्
राक्षसाश्च पुलस्त्यस्य वानरा: किन्नरास्तथा | यक्षाश्न मनुजव्यात्र पुत्रास्तस्य च धीमत:,नरश्रेष्ठ! बुद्धिमान् पुलस्त्य मुनिके पुत्र राक्षस, वानर, किन्नर तथा यक्ष हैं
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: rākṣasāś ca pulastyasya vānarāḥ kinnarās tathā | yakṣāś ca manuṣa-vyāghra putrās tasya ca dhīmataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi bậc hổ trong loài người, từ hiền triết Pulastya đã sinh ra những người con thuộc nhiều loài hữu tình—Rākṣasa, Vānara, Kinnara và Yakṣa.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s vision of a layered cosmos: diverse communities of beings are traced to revered sages, suggesting that power and nature (even when fearsome) arise within an ordered lineage rather than outside dharmic creation.
Vaiśampāyana continues a genealogical account, telling the listener that the sage Pulastya had offspring who became various classes of beings—Rākṣasas, Vānaras, Kinnaras, and Yakṣas—thereby situating these groups within the broader sacred family-tree.