Shloka 7
Nārada’s Account of the Kaliṅga Svayaṃvara: Duryodhana’s Seizure and Karṇa’s Escort
शृगालश्न महाराज: स्त्रीराज्याधिपतिश्न यः । अशोक: शतधन्वा च भोजो वीरश्न नामत:
nārada uvāca | śṛgālaś ca mahārājaḥ strīrājyādhipatiś ca yaḥ | aśokaḥ śatadhanvā ca bhojo vīraś ca nāmataḥ | śiśupālaḥ jarāsandho bhīṣmako vakraḥ kapotaromā nīlaḥ sudṛḍhaparākramī rukmī ca |
قال نارادا: «أيها الملك، كان شِرِغالَة، وكان أيضًا حاكمٌ ما لـ‘مملكة النساء’؛ وكان أشوكا، وشَتَدَهنْفا، وبهوچا، ورجلٌ يُدعى فيرا. وكذلك (كان) شيشوبالا، وجاراسندها، وبيشْمَكا، وفَكْرا، وكَبوتَرُوما، ونِيلا، وروكمي الشجاع الثابت البأس».
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as an ethical reminder through enumeration: many rulers attain power and notoriety, but their names ultimately stand as examples assessed by dharma; fame is unstable, and moral consequence outlasts political might.
Nārada is speaking and reciting a catalogue of kings/warriors—Śṛgāla, a ruler of the ‘women’s kingdom,’ Aśoka, Śatadhanvā, Bhoja, Vīra, and others such as Śiśupāla and Jarāsandha—within a broader Shānti Parva discourse that uses historical-epic exempla to instruct on righteous conduct and governance.