Shloka 19
नकुलस्य प्रतीची-दिग्विजयः
Nakula’s Conquest of the Western Quarter
महता बलचक्रेण परराष्ट्रावमर्दिना । हस्त्यश्वरथपूर्णेन दंशितेन प्रतापवान् २ ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
mahatā balacakreṇa pararāṣṭrāvamardinā |
hasty-aśva-ratha-pūrṇena daṃśitena pratāpavān ||
vṛto bharataśārṭūlo dviṣac-choka-vivardhanaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Bhīmasena — der mächtige Held, der „Tiger unter den Bhāratas“, der den Schmerz der Feinde mehrt — zog (dem königlichen Befehl gehorchend) aus, um den Osten zu unterwerfen, umgeben von einem gewaltigen Rad der Streitmacht: einem Heer, das feindliche Reiche zermalmte, erfüllt von Elefanten, Pferden und Streitwagen, vollständig bewaffnet. Die Stelle rahmt die Eroberung nicht als private Ambition, sondern als Handeln auf königlichen Befehl: disziplinierte Macht unter der Leitung legitimer Autorität.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined force under legitimate authority: military power is portrayed as effective and overwhelming, yet its ethical framing comes from acting under the king’s command (a rajadharma context) rather than personal impulse.
Vaiśampāyana describes a leading Bharata hero departing with a fully equipped, elephant-horse-chariot-filled army to subdue enemy realms—specifically as part of a campaign to conquer a direction (the eastern quarter in the surrounding narrative).