Shloka 2
महता बलचक्रेण परराष्ट्रावमर्दिना । हस्त्यश्वरथपूर्णेन दंशितेन प्रतापवान् २ ।। वृतो भरतशार्टूलो द्विषच्छोकविवर्द्धन: । वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! इसी समय शत्रुओंका शोक बढ़ानेवाले भरतवंशशिरोमणि महाप्रतापी एवं पराक्रमी भीमसेन भी धर्मराजकी आज्ञा ले, शत्रुके राज्यको कुचल देनेवाली और हाथी, घोड़े एवं रथसे भरी हुई, कवच आदिसे सुसज्जित विशाल सेनाके साथ पूर्व दिशाको जीतनेके लिये चले
vaiśampāyana uvāca | mahatā balacakreṇa pararāṣṭrāvamardinā | hasty-aśva-ratha-pūrṇena daṃśitena pratāpavān || 2 || vṛto bharataśārṭūlo dviṣac-choka-vivardhanaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: O Janamejaya, then Bhīmasena—the mighty hero, the tiger among the Bharatas, increaser of his enemies’ grief—having received the command of Dharmarāja, set forth to conquer the eastern quarter, surrounded by a vast wheel of forces that crushed hostile kingdoms, filled with elephants, horses, and chariots, fully armed and arrayed.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames military might within the ethic of sanctioned rule: a hero’s force is portrayed as disciplined, fully equipped, and directed toward the political task of subduing hostile realms—suggesting that power, in the epic’s ideal, operates under royal command and public purpose rather than personal impulse.
Vaiśampāyana describes a leading Bharata hero setting out accompanied by a massive, well-armed army—packed with elephants, horses, and chariots—capable of crushing enemy kingdoms, thereby intensifying the sorrow of opponents as the campaign begins.