Shloka 19
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
पज्चालांश्व विदेहांश्व कुलिन्दानू काशिकोसलान् । सुह्यानज़ांश्व वड़ांश्व निषादान् पुण्ड्रचीरकान्,जिस वीरने पहले समस्त काम्बोज, आवन्त्य, केकय, गान्धार, मद्र, मत्स्य, त्रिगर्त, तंगण, शक, पांचाल, विदेह, कुलिन्द, काशी, कोसल, सुहा, अंग, वंग, निषाद, पुण्ड्र, चीरक, वत्स, कलिंग, तरल, अश्मक तथा ऋषिक--इन सभी देशों तथा शबर, परहूण, प्रहूण और सरल जातिके लोगों, म्लेच्छराज्यके अधिपतियों तथा दुर्ग एवं वनोंमें रहनेवाले योद्धाओं-को समरभूमिमें जीतकर कर देनेवाला बना दिया था
vaiśampāyana uvāca | pañcālāṃś ca videhāṃś ca kulindān kāśikośalān | suhyaṅgāṃś ca vaṅgāṃś ca niṣādān puṇḍracīrakān ||
Vaiśampāyana said: He had already subdued in battle and made tributary the peoples of Pañcāla and Videha, the Kulindas, and the realms of Kāśī and Kośala; likewise the Suhyas, the Aṅgas and Vaṅgas, the Niṣādas, and the Puṇḍras and Cīrakas.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how military success and political dominance are built by subduing many peoples and extracting tribute. Ethically, it frames the Kurukṣetra war against a background of expansionist power—raising questions about the legitimacy and cost of conquest even when it produces order and resources.
Vaiśampāyana enumerates various regions and peoples that had been defeated earlier and made tributary by a powerful warrior/king (contextually, a figure whose prior conquests are being recalled). The catalogue functions to emphasize the scale of his influence and the breadth of forces drawn into the great war.