Shloka 19
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
पज्चालांश्व विदेहांश्व कुलिन्दानू काशिकोसलान् । सुह्यानज़ांश्व वड़ांश्व निषादान् पुण्ड्रचीरकान्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | pañcālāṃś ca videhāṃś ca kulindān kāśikośalān | suhyaṅgāṃś ca vaṅgāṃś ca niṣādān puṇḍracīrakān ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : Il avait déjà soumis au combat et réduit au tribut les peuples de Pañcāla et de Videha, les Kulindas, ainsi que les royaumes de Kāśī et de Kośala ; de même les Suhyas, les Aṅgas et les Vaṅgas, les Niṣādas, et les Puṇḍras et Cīrakas.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how military success and political dominance are built by subduing many peoples and extracting tribute. Ethically, it frames the Kurukṣetra war against a background of expansionist power—raising questions about the legitimacy and cost of conquest even when it produces order and resources.
Vaiśampāyana enumerates various regions and peoples that had been defeated earlier and made tributary by a powerful warrior/king (contextually, a figure whose prior conquests are being recalled). The catalogue functions to emphasize the scale of his influence and the breadth of forces drawn into the great war.