Shloka 1
वज्रदत्तेन सह अर्जुनयुद्धम्
Arjuna’s engagement with Vajradatta during the Aśvamedha circuit
ऑपन-- मा बक। अकाल पञ्चसप्ततितमो< ध्याय: अर्जुनका प्राग्ज्योतिषपुरके राजा वज्रदत्तके साथ युद्ध वैशम्पायन उवाच प्राग्ज्योतिषमथाभ्येत्य व्यचरत् स हयोत्तम: । भगदत्तात्मजस्तत्र निर्ययौ रणकर्कश:,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! तदनन्तर वह उत्तम अअश्र प्राग्ज्योतिषपुरके पास पहुँचकर विचरने लगा। वहाँ भगदत्तका पुत्र वज्रदत्त राज्य करता था, जो युद्धमें बड़ा ही कठोर था। भरतश्रेष्ठी जब उसे पता लगा कि पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्ठिरका अश्व मेरे राज्यकी सीमामें आ गया है, तब राजा वज्रदत्त नगरसे बाहर निकला और युद्धके लिये तैयार हो गया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | prāgjyotiṣam athābhyetya vyacarat sa hayottamaḥ | bhagadattātmajas tatra niryayau raṇakarkaśaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, thereafter the excellent sacrificial horse, having reached Prāgjyotiṣa, began to roam there. In that land the son of Bhagadatta—Vajrādattā—harsh and unyielding in battle, came out (to meet it), ready for war.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a key Aśvamedha principle: the roaming sacrificial horse becomes a test of political legitimacy and kṣatriya-dharma. A ruler who encounters it must either acknowledge the sacrificer’s sovereignty or defend his own claim through battle—linking ritual authority with ethical duties of kingship.
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha horse reaches the region of Prāgjyotiṣa. The local ruler, Vajrādattā—son of Bhagadatta—comes out, described as fierce in war, signaling an impending confrontation over the horse’s passage.