Shloka 596
Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality
माद्रीसुतस्तत: प्रायाद् विजयी दक्षिणां दिशम् | राजा नीलकी वह पूजा ग्रहणकर और उनपर कर लगाकर विजयी माद्रीकुमार सहदेव दक्षिण दिशाकी ओर बढ़ गये
mādrīsutas tataḥ prāyād vijayī dakṣiṇāṃ diśam | rājā nīlakiḥ sa pūjāṃ gṛhītvā teṣāṃ ca karaṃ samāropya vijayī mādrīkumāraḥ sahadevo dakṣiṇāṃ diśaṃ pravavṛte |
Entonces Sahadeva, el victorioso hijo de Mādrī, partió hacia el cuadrante meridional. Tras aceptar el homenaje y el tributo del rey Nīlaka e imponer sobre su reino el gravamen acostumbrado, el triunfante hijo de Mādrī prosiguió su campaña hacia el sur, haciendo avanzar el rito imperial de los Pāṇḍava mediante una sumisión ordenada y no por violencia innecesaria.
सहदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights dharmic statecraft in a conquest undertaken for a royal rite: victory is shown through orderly submission—accepting honour and tribute and establishing lawful revenue—rather than through gratuitous destruction.
During the Pāṇḍavas’ preparations for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya, Sahadeva conducts the southern digvijaya. After King Nīlaka offers homage and tribute, Sahadeva accepts it, sets the appropriate levy, and proceeds further south.