Shloka 15
Bhīmasena’s Digvijaya and Tribute Return (भीमस्य दिग्विजयः धननिवेदनं च)
विजित्य चाहवे शूरान् पर्वतीयान् महारथान् | जिगाय सेनया राजन् पुरं पौरवरक्षितम्,वहाँ संग्राममें शूरवीर पर्वतीय महारथियोंको परास्त करके पौरदद्वारा सुरक्षित उनकी राजधानीको भी सेनाद्वारा जीत लिया
vijitya cāhave śūrān parvatīyān mahārathān | jigāya senayā rājan puraṃ pauravarākṣitam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Having defeated in battle the valiant mountain-dwelling great chariot-warriors, he then, O King, captured with his army their city, which was guarded by its own citizens.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the classical sequence of royal expansion: defeating opposing warriors in open battle and then taking control of the political center (the city). Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya valor and the human cost borne by communities (here, a city defended by its own citizens).
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the conqueror first overcomes the mountain-region heroes—elite mahārathas—in combat, and then proceeds to seize their capital with his army, despite it being guarded by the townspeople.