Shloka 16
Droṇa’s Conditional Boon: The Plan to Capture Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रोणेन युधिष्ठिरग्रहणोपायः)
आन्न्त्यान् दाक्षिणात्यांश्न॒ पर्वतीयान् दशेरकान् । काश्मीरकानौरसिकान् पिशाचांश्व समुद्गलान्,संजय! इसी प्रकार कमलनयन श्रीकृष्णने अवन्ती, दक्षिण प्रान्त, पर्वतीय देश, दशेरक, काश्मीर, औरसिक, पिशाच, मुद्गल, काम्बोज, वाटधान, चोल, पाण्डब, त्रिगर्त, मालव, अत्यन्त दुर्जय दरद आदि देशोंके योद्धाओंको तथा नाना दिशाओंसे आये हुए खशों, शकों और अनुयायियों-सहित कालयवनको भी जीत लिया
Ānantyān dākṣiṇātyāṁś ca parvatīyān daśerakān | Kāśmīrakān aurasikān piśācāṁś ca samudgalān, Sañjaya ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O Sañjaya, he (Śrī Kṛṣṇa), the lotus-eyed one, subdued many frontier and regional peoples—those of Ānantya, the southern lands, the mountain tracts, the Daśerakas, the Kāśmīras, the Aurasikas, the Piśācas, and the Mudgalas.” In context, the verse functions as a catalogue of conquered regions, underscoring Kṛṣṇa’s political and military ascendancy and the ethical idea that power, when aligned with righteous purpose, can establish order across diverse and often turbulent frontiers.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ideal of effective kingship: establishing order across diverse lands. In the epic’s ethical frame, conquest is presented as legitimate when it supports dharma—stability, protection of subjects, and the curbing of lawlessness—rather than mere aggression.
Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses Sañjaya and enumerates various peoples and regions said to have been subdued by Śrī Kṛṣṇa, functioning as a geographic-ethnographic catalogue that emphasizes his wide-ranging influence and capability.