Shloka 62
Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality
वशे चक्रे महाबाहु: सुराष्ट्राधिपतिं तदा । फिर त्रिपुरीके राजा अमितौजाकों वशमें करके महाबाहु सहदेवने पौरवेश्वरको वेगपूर्वक बंदी बना लिया। तदनन्तर बड़े भारी प्रयत्नके द्वारा विशाल भुजाओंवाले माद्रीकुमारने सुराष्ट्देशके अधिपति कौशिकाचार्य आकृतिको वशमें किया || ६०-६१ ह ।। सुराष्ट्रविषयस्थश्व प्रेषयामास रुक्मिणे
vase cakre mahābāhuḥ surāṣṭrādhipatiṃ tadā | surāṣṭraviṣayasthaś ca preṣayāmāsa rukmiṇe ||
Sahadeva said: “Then the mighty-armed one brought the ruler of Surāṣṭra under his control. And from within Surāṣṭra’s territory he dispatched word and arrangements (of tribute) to Rukmin.”
सहदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage illustrates rajadharma in the context of a consecratory imperial rite: regional rulers are expected to acknowledge a paramount king’s authority through submission and tribute, enabling a yajña-based political order with minimal violence when possible.
During Sahadeva’s campaign to gather submissions for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya preparations, he subdues the ruler of Surāṣṭra and then sends a dispatch from Surāṣṭra’s territory to Rukmin.