Shloka 66
Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality
वशे चक्रे महातेजा दण्डकांश्ष॒ महाबल: । सागरद्वीपवासांश्व॒ नृपतीन् म्लेच्छयोनिजान्
vaśe cakre mahātejā daṇḍakān mahābalaḥ | sāgaradvīpavāsāṁś ca nṛpatīn mlecchayonijān ||
Sahadeva said: The mighty, radiant hero brought under his control the powerful rulers of Daṇḍaka, and likewise the kings who dwelt upon the islands of the sea—those held to be of mleccha (non‑Vedic) origin.
सहदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a political-ethical theme of the epic: a ruler’s expanding sovereignty is portrayed as establishing a unified order over diverse regions and peoples. It also reflects the Mahābhārata’s social vocabulary, where distant or non-orthodox groups are labeled “mleccha,” indicating perceived cultural-linguistic difference rather than a single ethnicity.
Sahadeva is recounting (or being described as) subduing additional territories during a campaign of conquest: the rulers of Daṇḍaka and the kings living in sea-islands, including those characterized as of mleccha origin, are brought under his control.