Shloka 206
जयद्रथविमोचन–पलायनवृत्तान्तः
Recovery of Draupadī and Jayadratha’s flight
शशकान् यवनांश्चैव विजिग्ये सूतनन्दन: । इस प्रकार पूर्व, पश्चिम, उत्तर, दक्षिण सब दिशाओंकी समूची पृथ्वीको जीतकर म्लेच्छ, वनवासी, पर्वतीय, भद्गर, रोहितक, आग्रेय तथा मालव आदि समस्त गणराज्योंको परास्त किया। इसके बाद नीतिके अनुसार काम करनेवाले सूतनन्दन कर्णने हँसते-हँसते शशक और यवन राजाओंको भी जीत लिया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | śaśakān yavanāṃś caiva vijigye sūtanandanaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: The son of the charioteer (Karṇa) conquered the Śaśakas and the Yavanas as well. Thus, having subdued the entire earth in all directions—east, west, north, and south—he defeated the Mleccha peoples and many republican clans and frontier groups such as forest-dwellers and mountain tribes, including the Bhadragaras, Rohitakas, Āgreyas, and Mālavas. Thereafter, acting in accordance with political prudence (nīti), Karṇa, the son of the sūta, overcame even the Śaśaka and Yavana kings with effortless confidence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames conquest not merely as brute force but as an exercise of nīti—political prudence and disciplined conduct expected of a royal agent. It also reflects the epic’s worldview of integrating or subduing frontier groups to establish a comprehensive political order.
Vaiśampāyana narrates Karna’s campaign of victory across all directions. Karna defeats various peoples and clan-states, explicitly naming Śaśakas and Yavanas among those conquered, presenting his successes as wide-ranging and strategically executed.