Shloka 86
Adhyāya 32: Rājasūya-Dīkṣā and Appointment of Court Offices (राजसूयदीक्षा तथा अधिकारविनियोगः)
गणानुत्सवसंकेतान् व्यजयत् पुरुषर्षभ: । पुनः उधरसे लौटकर नरश्रेष्ठ नकुलने पुष्करारण्य-निवासी उत्सवसंकेत नामक गणोंको परास्त किया
gaṇān utsavasaṅketān vyajayat puruṣarṣabhaḥ | punaḥ udharase lauṭakara naraśreṣṭha nakulena puṣkarāraṇya-nivāsī utsavasaṅketa-nāmaka gaṇoṃ ko parāsta kiyā |
Vaiśampāyana said: “The bull among men overcame the bands known by the festival-signal name. Then, returning again to Udharasa, the foremost of men—Nakula—defeated those same festival-signal bands who dwelt in the Puṣkara forest.” The episode underscores the disciplined assertion of royal authority: force is used not for cruelty, but to re-establish order and secure the obligations of sovereignty.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights kṣatriya-dharma in practice: a ruler or royal agent must subdue disruptive or non-compliant groups to restore lawful order, not for personal malice but to uphold governance and the wider social balance.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Nakula defeats certain bands called the Utsavasaṅketa gaṇas; after returning to a place named Udharasa, he again overcomes those groups residing in the Puṣkara forest, indicating a continuing campaign of subjugation.