Shloka 27
Rājasūya-sambhāra: Prosperity under Rājadharma and the Initiation of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Sacrifice
स सर्वान् म्लेच्छनूपतीन् सागरानूपवासिन: । करमाहारयामास रत्नानि विविधानि च,वहाँ उन्होंने समुद्रके टापुओंमें रहनेवाले बहुत-से म्लेच्छ राजाओंको जीतकर उनसे करके रूपमें भाँति-भाँतिके रत्न वसूल किये
sa sarvān mleccha-nṛpatīn sāgarānūpa-vāsinaḥ | karam āhārayāmāsa ratnāni vividhāni ca ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Having subdued all those mleccha (foreign) kings who dwelt in the sea-girt islands and the coastal marshlands, he made them bring tribute—taxes and many kinds of precious gems.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reflects a political-dharmic idea: conquest is not merely violence but is expected to culminate in stable governance, where defeated rulers acknowledge sovereignty through regular tribute (kara) and valuable offerings, integrating peripheral regions into an ordered realm.
The narrator states that the (previously mentioned) conqueror subdued many foreign rulers living in sea-bound/coastal regions and then had them pay taxes and deliver assorted gems as tribute.