Shloka 8
उलूकदूतवाक्यम् / Ulūka’s Message to the Pāṇḍavas
निर्जित्य नरक॑ भौममाह्त्य मणिकुण्डले । षोडश स्त्रीसहसत्राणि रत्नानि विविधानि च
nirjitya narakaṁ bhaumam āhṛtya maṇikuṇḍale | ṣoḍaśa strīsahasrāṇi ratnāni vividhāni ca ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : Ayant vaincu Naraka, fils de Bhūmi, et emporté les boucles d’oreilles serties de joyaux, il recouvra aussi seize mille femmes et quantité de gemmes précieuses de toutes sortes.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames righteous power as the subduing of a wrongdoer and the restoration of what was unjustly taken—especially the freeing of captives and the recovery of stolen valuables—reflecting a ruler’s dharmic responsibility.
Vaiśampāyana recounts that Naraka (Bhauma) was defeated; prized ornaments (jeweled earrings) and diverse treasures were retrieved, and sixteen thousand women who had been held were recovered.