अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
सुनयाद् वासुदेवस्य भीमार्जुनबलेन च । घातयित्वा जरासन्धं चैद्यं च बलगर्वितम्,भगवान् श्रीकृष्णकी सुन्दर नीति और भीमसेन तथा अर्जुनकी शक्तिसे बलके घमण्डमें चूर रहनेवाले जरासन्ध और चेदिराज शिशुपालको मरवाकर धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरने महायज्ञ राजसूयका सम्पादन किया। वह यज्ञ सभी उत्तम- गुणोंसे सम्पन्न था। उसमें प्रचुर अन्न और पर्याप्त दक्षिणाका वितरण किया गया था
śrutvā vāsudevasya bhīmārjunabalena ca | ghātayitvā jarāsandhaṃ caidyaṃ ca balagarvitam | bhagavataḥ śrīkṛṣṇasya sundaranītyā bhīmasena-arjunayoḥ śaktyā ca balasya garveṇa cūraṃ jarāsandhaṃ ca cedirājaṃ śiśupālaṃ ca mārayitvā dharmarājaḥ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ mahāyajñaṃ rājasūyaṃ samāpādayāmāsa | sa yajñaḥ sarvottamaguṇasampannaḥ | tasmin pracurānnaṃ paryāptadakṣiṇā ca vitīrṇā |
Having heeded Vāsudeva’s counsel, and upheld by the strength of Bhīma and Arjuna, Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira brought about the death of Jarāsandha and of the Cedi king Śiśupāla—men intoxicated with pride in their power. By Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sound policy and the might of his brothers, Yudhiṣṭhira then accomplished the great Rājasūya sacrifice. That sacrifice was endowed with every excellent quality, marked by abundant food and the generous distribution of adequate gifts (dakṣiṇā).
Power without humility becomes self-destructive: those swollen with strength (balagarvita) fall, while righteous sovereignty is established through dharma-guided counsel (nīti), disciplined force, and generous giving in public rites like the Rājasūya.
Following Kṛṣṇa’s strategic counsel and aided by Bhīma and Arjuna, Yudhiṣṭhira removes major obstacles to his imperial rite—Jarāsandha and Śiśupāla—and then completes the Rājasūya sacrifice, noted for excellence and lavish hospitality and gifts.