Shloka 22
Draupadī’s Exhortation on Rājadharma and Daṇḍa (द्रौपद्याः राजधर्मोपदेशः)
जम्बूद्वीपेन सदृश: क्रौज्चद्वीपो नराधिप । अधरेण महामेरोर्दण्डेन मृदितस्त्वया,नरेश्वर! जम्बूद्वीपके समान ही क्रौज्चद्वीपको जो महामेरुसे पश्चिम है, आपने दण्डसे कुचल दिया है
jambūdvīpena sadṛśaḥ krauñcadvīpo narādhipa | adhareṇa mahāmeror daṇḍena mṛditas tvayā nareśvara ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O king, Kraunca-dvīpa is like Jambū-dvīpa. Lying to the west—on the lower side—of great Meru, it has been crushed by your staff, O lord of men.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses cosmographic imagery to underscore the reach of royal power (daṇḍa): a king’s authority is portrayed as capable of subduing even vast realms, implying that rulership involves maintaining order through effective sovereignty.
Vaiśampāyana addresses a king and describes Kraunca-dvīpa as comparable to Jambū-dvīpa, situated relative to Mount Meru, and says it has been ‘crushed’ by the king’s staff—an image of conquest or overpowering dominion expressed through the symbol of the sceptre.