Shloka 56
अर्जुनस्योत्तरदिग्विजयः
Arjuna’s Northern Conquests and Tribute Collection
तेनैव रथमुख्येन मनसस्तुल्यगामिना । धर्मराजविसूष्टेन दिव्येनानादयन् दिश:
tenaiva rathamukhyena manas-tulya-gāminā | dharmarāja-visṛṣṭena divyenānādayan diśaḥ, bhārata |
Vaiśampāyana said: Then, in that very foremost chariot—swift as the mind—granted by King Yudhiṣṭhira and divine in nature, he made the four quarters resound, O Bhārata, and departed for his city of Dvārakā. The passage marks a courteous, dharma-aligned leave-taking: his purpose fulfilled, he goes with due consent, in harmony with the king’s authority and the bonds of kinship.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic conduct in transitions of power and movement: one departs only with proper leave (visṛṣṭa) from the rightful authority (Dharmarāja), maintaining respect, order, and social-ethical propriety even amid larger political aims.
After his task is concluded, the figure being referred to departs in the excellent, mind-swift, divine chariot provided by Yudhiṣṭhira, making the directions resound, and proceeds toward Dvārakā—marking a narrative shift from the court setting to the return journey.