Shloka 20
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: Umgeben von einem gewaltigen Rad der Streitmacht — einem Heer, das feindliche Reiche zermalmte, erfüllt von Elefanten, Pferden und Streitwagen, vollständig bewaffnet — wurde der mächtige, strahlende Held, der „Tiger unter den Bhāratas“, den Feinden zum Anlass wachsenden Leids, als er auszog, den königlichen Befehl zu vollziehen.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of executing royal command through disciplined, well-equipped force: power is portrayed as legitimate when organized under authority and directed toward a defined political objective (subduing hostile realms), while also emphasizing the moral weight of warfare as it brings sorrow to opponents.
Vaiśampāyana describes a leading Bharata hero setting out attended by a massive, fully armed army—elephants, horses, and chariots in abundance—whose very march is said to increase the grief of enemies, as part of the broader campaign of conquest undertaken under the king’s order.