Shloka 30
सेनासमागमः — The Convergence of Armies
तथा रोहितकारण्यं मरुभूमिश्न केवला । अहिच्छत्रं कालकूटं गज़ाकूलं च भारत,इसलिये भारत! पंचनद प्रदेश, सम्पूर्ण कुरुजांगल देश, रोहितकवन (रोहतक), समस्त मरुभूमि, अहिच्छत्र, कालकूट, गंगातट, वारण, वाटधान तथा यामुनपर्वत--यह प्रचुर धन- धान्यसे सम्पन्न सुविस्तृत प्रदेश कौरवोंकी सेनासे भलीभाँति घिर गया
tathā rohitakāraṇyaṁ marubhūmiś ca kevalā | ahicchatraṁ kālakūṭaṁ gaṅgākūlaṁ ca bhārata ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “So too, O Bhārata, Rohitaka forest, the entire desert tract, Ahicchatra, Kālakūṭa, and the banks of the Gaṅgā—these wide and prosperous regions were thoroughly surrounded and secured by the Kaurava forces.”
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how political power expresses itself through control of territory: securing routes and regions becomes a prerequisite for conflict. Ethically, it foreshadows the widening social cost of war—prosperous lands and ordinary populations become enclosed within military designs.
Vaiśaṃpāyana continues a geographical listing of regions brought under Kaurava military control. He names Rohitaka forest, desert tracts, Ahicchatra, Kālakūṭa, and the Gaṅgā’s banks as areas effectively surrounded/secured by the Kaurava forces as preparations intensify.