Shloka 21
Sabhā-praveśa, Dāna, and the Courtly Convergence (सभा-प्रवेशः दानं च)
श्रीमान् महात्मा धर्मात्मा मुण्जकेतुर्विवर्धन: । संग्रामजिद् दुर्मुखश्न॒ उग्रसेनश्व॒ वीर्यवान्,श्रीमान् महामना धर्मात्मा मुंजकेतु, विवर्धन, संग्रामजित, दुर्मुख, पराक्रमी उग्रसेन, राजा कक्षसेन, अपराजित क्षेमक, कम्बोजराज कमठ और महाबली कम्पन, जो अकेले ही बल-पौरुषसम्पन्न, अस्त्रविद्याके ज्ञाता तथा अमिततेजस्वी यवनोंको सदा उसी प्रकार कँपाते रहते थे, जैसे वज्रधारी इन्द्रने कालकेय नामक असुरोंको कम्पित किया था। (ये सभी नरेश धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरकी उपासना करते रहते थे)
śrīmān mahātmā dharmātmā muñjaketur vivardhanaḥ | saṅgrāmajid durmukhaś ca ugrasenaś ca vīryavān ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “There were illustrious kings—great-souled and devoted to dharma—such as Muñjaketu, Vivardhana, Saṅgrāmajit, Durmukha, and the valiant Ugrasena. Endowed with strength and manly prowess, skilled in the science of weapons, and blazing with immeasurable energy, they continually struck fear into the Yavanas, just as Indra, wielder of the thunderbolt, once made the Kālakeya demons tremble. All these rulers remained in attendance upon Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous kingship is shown through dharmic alignment and disciplined service: powerful rulers, though formidable in war, are portrayed as upholding order by placing themselves under Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira’s moral authority, suggesting that strength gains legitimacy when subordinated to dharma.
The narrator lists notable, valorous kings who attend Yudhiṣṭhira’s court. Their might is emphasized through a simile: they terrify the Yavanas as Indra once terrified the Kālakeya demons, underscoring the prestige and protective power gathered around Yudhiṣṭhira.