Shloka 20
आन्ध्रकाश्च पुलिन्दाश्न किराताश्रोग्रविक्रमा: । म्लेच्छाश्व पर्वतीयाश्व॒ सागरानूपवासिन:
āndhrāś ca pulindāś ca kirātāś cogra-vikramāḥ | mlecchāś ca parvatīyāś ca sāgarānūpa-vāsinaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “And there were the Āndhras, the Pulindas, and the Kirātas of fierce prowess; also the Mlecchas—men of the mountains—and those who dwell by the sea and in marshy lowlands.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the vast, multi-regional scale of the war: many peoples—forest, mountain, coastal, and marshland dwellers—are drawn into the conflict. Ethically, it highlights how warfare in the epic engulfs diverse communities, not only the central royal lineages.
Sañjaya is cataloguing the various groups present in the armies, emphasizing their fearsome martial capacity and their wide geographic origins (mountains, seacoasts, and wetlands).