Shloka 29
सेनासमागमः — The Convergence of Armies
राज्ञां स्वबलमुख्यानां प्राधान्येनापि भारत । राजन! दुर्योधनकी अपनी सेनाके जो प्रधान-प्रधान राजा थे, उनके भी ठहरनेके लिये हस्तिनापुरमें स्थान नहीं रह गया था ।।
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | rājñāṃ svabalamukhyānāṃ prādhānyenāpi bhārata | rājann duryodhanasya senāyāḥ pradhāna-pradhānā rājāno 'pi sthātum hastināpure sthānaṃ naiva śeṣam āsīt || tataḥ pañcanadaṃ caiva kṛtsnaṃ ca kurujāṅgalam | rohitakavanaṃ caiva marubhūmiṃ samantataḥ | ahicchatraṃ kālakūṭaṃ gaṅgātaṭaṃ varaṇaṃ vāṭadhānaṃ tathā yāmunaparvataṃ ca | etat prabhūta-dhana-dhānya-sampannaṃ suvistṛtaṃ deśaṃ kaurava-senayā samantād āvṛtaṃ babhūva ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: O Bhārata, even the foremost kings—each commanding his own forces and holding high rank—who had come as Duryodhana’s principal allies, could no longer find lodging-space in Hastināpura. Therefore the entire Pañcanada region and all of Kuru-jāṅgala—together with Rohitaka forest, the surrounding desert tracts, Ahicchatra, Kālakūṭa, the banks of the Gaṅgā, Varaṇa, Vāṭadhāna, and the Yāmuna mountain—this vast land, rich in wealth and grain, became completely encircled and filled by the Kaurava army.
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked political ambition and the gathering of military power can overwhelm civic life: even a capital city cannot contain the influx of allied forces. Ethically, it foreshadows the social and material strain that precedes adharma-driven war—where the pursuit of dominance displaces order and burdens the land and people.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the massive mustering of Duryodhana’s allied kings and their troops. Hastināpura runs out of space to accommodate them, so the Kaurava forces spread out and effectively occupy/encircle a wide set of regions—Pañcanada, Kuru-jāṅgala, and other named locales—showing the scale of the impending conflict.