Shloka 12
Rājagṛhe Magadheśvarasya yuddhāhvānam — Arjunena saṃyamaḥ
The Rājagṛha Challenge and Arjuna’s Restraint
तांक्षापि विजयो जित्वा नातितीव्रेण कर्मणा । तुरज़्मवशेनाथ सुराष्ट्रानभितो ययौ
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: tāṃś cāpi Vijayo jitvā nātitīvreṇa karmaṇā | turagām avaśenātha Surāṣṭrān abhito yayau ||
قال فايشَمبايانا: وبعد أن أخضعهم أيضًا، نال فيجيا النصر من غير أن يلجأ إلى إجراءات بالغة القسوة. ثم، وبحكم ما فرضه مسار الحصان القرباني إذ كان يجوب، مضى يطوف حول إقليم سوراشترا.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Victory should be exercised with restraint: conquest is not an excuse for cruelty. The verse highlights dharmic kingship—subduing opposition without excessive harshness—and frames power as accountable to ethical conduct.
After subduing the concerned groups/regions, Vijaya continues the Ashvamedha progress by following the sacrificial horse’s wandering path, moving around Surāṣṭra as the horse leads, rather than choosing targets purely by ambition.