Shloka 26
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 113 — Maryādā-sthāpana (Śvetaketu’s Boundary) and the Niyoga Deliberation of Pāṇḍu and Kuntī
ततः सेनामुपादाय पाण्डु्नानाविधध्वजाम् | प्रभूतहस्त्यश्वयुतां पदातिरथसंकुलाम्,तत्पश्चात् वे नाना प्रकारकी ध्वजा-पताकाओंसे युक्त और बहुसंख्यक हाथी, घोड़े, रथ एवं पैदलोंसे भरी हुई भारी सेना लेकर मगधदेशमें गये। वहाँ राजगृहमें अनेक राजाओंका अपराधी बलाभिमानी मगधराज दीर्घ उनके हाथसे मारा गया
tataḥ senām upādāya pāṇḍūnānāvidhadhvajām | prabhūtahasty-aśvayutāṁ padāti-ratha-saṅkulām ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then, taking with them the Pāṇḍavas’ great army—adorned with many kinds of banners and standards, and crowded with abundant elephants and horses, as well as foot-soldiers and chariots—they proceeded toward the land of Magadha. There, at Rājagṛha, the overbearing Magadhan king Dīrgha, notorious for offending many rulers, was slain by them—an episode that frames royal power as answerable to restraint and justice rather than mere arrogance.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and kingship are portrayed as accountable to dharma: arrogance and repeated offenses against other rulers invite corrective action, and military force is framed as legitimate only when aligned with restoring order and restraining wrongdoing.
The narrator describes the Pāṇḍavas taking a large, well-equipped army with many banners, elephants, horses, chariots, and infantry, marching to Magadha, and killing the Magadhan king Dīrgha at Rājagṛha, who is characterized as an arrogant offender against many kings.