Text 1
maitreya uvāca
vijitāśvo ’dhirājāsīt
pṛthu-putraḥ pṛthu-śravāḥ
yavīyobhyo ’dadāt kāṣṭhā
bhrātṛbhyo bhrātṛ-vatsalaḥ
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.
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.
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.