Shloka 30
सेनासमागमः — The Convergence of Armies
तथा रोहितकारण्यं मरुभूमिश्न केवला । अहिच्छत्रं कालकूटं गज़ाकूलं च भारत
tathā rohitakāraṇyaṁ marubhūmiś ca kevalā | ahicchatraṁ kālakūṭaṁ gaṅgākūlaṁ ca bhārata ||
વૈશંપાયન બોલ્યા—હે ભારત! તેમ જ રોહિતક અરણ્ય, સમગ્ર રણપ્રદેશ, અહિચ્છત્ર, કાલકૂટ અને ગંગાતટ—આ સમૃદ્ધ પ્રદેશો કૌરવ સેનાથી સર્વ દિશાઓથી ઘેરાઈ ગયા.
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how political power expresses itself through control of territory: securing routes and regions becomes a prerequisite for conflict. Ethically, it foreshadows the widening social cost of war—prosperous lands and ordinary populations become enclosed within military designs.
Vaiśaṃpāyana continues a geographical listing of regions brought under Kaurava military control. He names Rohitaka forest, desert tracts, Ahicchatra, Kālakūṭa, and the Gaṅgā’s banks as areas effectively surrounded/secured by the Kaurava forces as preparations intensify.