Shloka 596
Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality
माद्रीसुतस्तत: प्रायाद् विजयी दक्षिणां दिशम् | राजा नीलकी वह पूजा ग्रहणकर और उनपर कर लगाकर विजयी माद्रीकुमार सहदेव दक्षिण दिशाकी ओर बढ़ गये
mādrīsutas tataḥ prāyād vijayī dakṣiṇāṃ diśam | rājā nīlakiḥ sa pūjāṃ gṛhītvā teṣāṃ ca karaṃ samāropya vijayī mādrīkumāraḥ sahadevo dakṣiṇāṃ diśaṃ pravavṛte |
Dann brach Sahadeva, der siegreiche Sohn der Mādrī, in die südliche Himmelsrichtung auf. Nachdem er die Huldigung und den Tribut des Königs Nīlaka angenommen und seinem Reich die übliche Abgabe auferlegt hatte, setzte der triumphierende Sohn der Mādrī seinen Zug nach Süden fort — und trug das imperiale Ritual der Pāṇḍavas durch geordnete Unterwerfung voran, nicht durch unnötige Gewalt.
सहदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights dharmic statecraft in a conquest undertaken for a royal rite: victory is shown through orderly submission—accepting honour and tribute and establishing lawful revenue—rather than through gratuitous destruction.
During the Pāṇḍavas’ preparations for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya, Sahadeva conducts the southern digvijaya. After King Nīlaka offers homage and tribute, Sahadeva accepts it, sets the appropriate levy, and proceeds further south.