Devanagari
मैत्रेय उवाच
विजिताश्वोऽधिराजासीत्पृथुपुत्र: पृथुश्रवा: ।
यवीयोभ्योऽददात्काष्ठा भ्रातृभ्यो भ्रातृवत्सल: ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
maitreya uvāca
vijitāśvo ’dhirājāsīt
pṛthu-putraḥ pṛthu-śravāḥ
yavīyobhyo ’dadāt kāṣṭhā
bhrātṛbhyo bhrātṛ-vatsalaḥ
Synonyms
maitreyaḥ uvāca
—
Maitreya continued to speak
;
vijitāśvaḥ
—
of the name Vijitāśva
;
adhirājā
—
the emperor
;
āsīt
—
became
;
pṛthu
—
putraḥ — the son of Mahārāja Pṛthu
;
pṛthu
—
śravāḥ — of great activities
;
yavīyobhyaḥ
—
unto the younger brothers
;
adadāt
—
offered
;
kāṣṭhāḥ
—
different directions
;
bhrātṛbhyaḥ
—
unto the brothers
;
bhrātṛ
—
vatsalaḥ — very affectionate to the brothers .
Translation
The great sage Maitreya continued: Vijitāśva, the eldest son of Mahārāja Pṛthu, who had a reputation like his father’s, became emperor and gave his younger brothers different directions of the world to govern, for he was very affectionate toward his brothers.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Maitreya said: Vijitāśva, the eldest son of Mahārāja Pṛthu, [Note: How he got his name is related in SB 4.19.18.] who had a reputation like his father's, became the King and gave his younger brothers different regions of the world, being affectionate to his brothers.
In the Twenty-fourth Chapter, the Pracetās, sons of Pracīnabarhi, the grandson of Pṛthu, receive the prayers of Śiva.
Adhirājā stands for adhirājaḥ. Yavīyobhyaḥ means his younger brothers.
Purport
After describing the life and character of Mahārāja Pṛthu in the previous chapter, the great sage Maitreya began to speak about the sons and grandsons in the genealogical line of the Pṛthu dynasty. After the death of Mahārāja Pṛthu, his eldest son, Vijitāśva, became emperor of the world. King Vijitāśva was very affectionate toward his younger brothers, and therefore he wanted them to rule different directions of the world. From time immemorial the eldest son generally becomes king after the death of the previous king. When the Pāṇḍavas ruled the earth, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, the eldest son of King Pāṇḍu, became emperor, and his younger brothers assisted him. Similarly, King Vijitāśva’s younger brothers were appointed to govern the different directions of the world.