Shloka 10

आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः

Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition

Devanagari script

अयःशिरा अश्वशिरा अय:शड्कुश्च वीर्यवान्‌ तथा गगनमूर्धा च वेगवांश्षात्र पजचम:

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

ayaḥśirā aśvaśirā ayaḥśaṅkuś ca vīryavān |

tathā gaganamūrdhā ca vegavān—kṣatra pañcamaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：“阿耶湿罗、阿湿婆湿罗、雄力无比的阿耶湿商拘，以及伽伽那牟尔陀与迅疾勇猛的毗伽梵——大王啊——这五位强大的大檀那婆，降生于羯迦耶之地，化作诸王之中最为卓越、心志高远的领袖。”

Word by Word

• अयःशिराः: Ayahśirā (Iron-head, a proper name)
• अयःशिराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयःशिरस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अश्वशिराः: Aśvaśirā (Horse-head, a proper name)
• अश्वशिराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वशिरस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अयःशङ्कुः: Ayahśaṅku (Iron-spike, a proper name)
• अयःशङ्कुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयःशङ्कु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• वीर्यवान्: powerful, possessed of strength
• वीर्यवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वीर्यवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तथा: likewise, also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• गगनमूर्धा: Gaganamūrdhā (Sky-headed, a proper name)
• गगनमूर्धा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गगनमूर्धन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• वेगवान्: swift, impetuous
• वेगवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेगवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पञ्च: five
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पञ्च

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Janamejaya (implied by 'rājan')
• Ayaḥśirā
• Aśvaśirā
• Ayaḥśaṅku
• Gaganamūrdhā
• Vegavān
• Kekaya (country)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames political power and royal birth within a moral-cosmic genealogy: formidable beings (Dānavas) can manifest as human rulers. It cautions that kingship may carry inherited tendencies (toward force, speed, hardness), so dharma must consciously govern power rather than mere might.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues a catalog of non-human beings (Dānavas/Asuras) who take birth on earth as kings. Here he names five—Ayaḥśirā, Aśvaśirā, Ayaḥśaṅku, Gaganamūrdhā, and Vegavān—stating that they were born in the Kekaya realm as leading rulers.