Shloka 18
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
योडजयत् सर्वकाम्बोजानावन्त्यान् केकयै: सह | गान्धारान् मद्रकान् मत्स्यांस्त्रिगर्तास्तड्रणाउ्शकान्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | yo 'jayat sarva-kāmbojān āvantyān kekayaiḥ saha | gāndhārān madrakān matsyāṁs trigartāṁs taṅgaṇān śakān |
Vaiśampāyana dit : «C’est lui, le héros qui, sur le champ de bataille, soumit et réduisit au tribut tous les Kāmbojas ; les Avantis avec les Kekayas ; et de même les Gāndhāras, les Madras, les Matsyas, les Trigartas, les Taṅgaṇas et les Śakas.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a key epic ethic of political life: conquest creates obligations and dependencies (tribute, subordination), and such accumulated power—won through force—becomes part of the moral background of the Kurukṣetra war, where earlier ambitions and dominations return as consequences.
Vaiśampāyana is describing a warrior’s past military successes by listing the many peoples and regions he defeated. The catalogue-style enumeration serves to magnify the hero’s might and to situate the current war within a wider map of allied and subjugated kingdoms.