Shloka 24
सेनासमागमः — The Convergence of Armies
महीपालो महावीर्यर्दक्षिणापथवासिभि: । इसी प्रकार माहिष्मती पुरीके निवासी राजा नील भी दक्षिण देशके रहनेवाले श्यामवर्णके शस्त्रधारी महापराक्रमी सैनिकोंके साथ दुर्योधनके पक्षमें आये ।।
mahīpālo mahāvīryo dakṣiṇāpathavāsibhiḥ | āvalantyau ca mahīpālau mahābalasusamvṛtau ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: A mighty king, of great valor, came with warriors from Dakṣiṇāpatha, the southern lands. Likewise King Nīla of Māhiṣmatī arrived to support Duryodhana, accompanied by dark-complexioned, weapon-bearing, exceedingly powerful southern troops. And the two kings of Avanti also came, surrounded by forces of great strength.
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how political ambition and impending war draw rulers into alliances; it implicitly raises the ethical tension between loyalty to a faction and the broader demands of dharma, since many powerful kings choose sides before fully weighing the righteousness of the cause.
In the Udyoga Parva’s war-preparation sequence, southern rulers and their troops—especially King Nīla of Māhiṣmatī and the two kings of Avanti—are listed among those who come to support Duryodhana, showing the widening coalition on the Kaurava side.