Shloka 12
Adhyāya 32: Rājasūya-Dīkṣā and Appointment of Court Offices (राजसूयदीक्षा तथा अधिकारविनियोगः)
द्वारपालं च तरसा वशे चक्रे महाद्युति: । फिर सम्पूर्ण पंचनददेश (पंजाब), अमरपर्वत, उत्तरज्योतिष, दिव्यकट नगर और द्वारपालपुरको अत्यन्त कान्तिमान् नकुलने शीघ्र ही अपने अधिकारमें कर लिया ।।
dvārapālaṃ ca tarasā vaśe cakre mahādyutiḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: With swift force, the radiant hero brought even the gate-keeper under his control. The episode shows the Pāṇḍavas’ campaign as more than mere battle: it is the assertion of lawful sovereignty—power used to establish political order for the coming royal consecration, and restraint shown in winning submission rather than needless slaughter.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in conquest, authority is ideally exercised to establish order (rājadharma) with controlled force—securing submission and stability rather than indulging in unnecessary violence.
In the account of the Pandavas’ campaign for the Rājasūya preparations, the radiant warrior (contextually Nakula) swiftly subdues a gate-keeper, signaling the rapid consolidation of control over a fortified place or its administration.