Shloka 103
जयद्रथविमोचन–पलायनवृत्तान्तः
Recovery of Draupadī and Jayadratha’s flight
एतान् सर्वान् विनिर्जित्य करमादाय सर्वश: । वत्सभूमिको जीतकर कर्णने केवला, मृत्तिकावती, मोहन, पत्तन, त्रिपुरी तथा कोसला --इन सब देशोंको अपने अधिकारमें किया और सबसे कर लेकर (दक्षिण दिशाकी ओर) प्रस्थान किया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | etān sarvān vinirjitya karam ādāya sarvaśaḥ | vatsa-bhūmikaṃ jītakaraṃ karṇane kevalāṃ mṛttikāvatīṃ mohanaṃ pattanaṃ tripurīṃ tathā kosalāṃ—etān sarva-deśān sva-vaśe kṛtvā sarvataḥ karaṃ gṛhītvā dakṣiṇa-diśaṃ prati prasthitaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: Having conquered all these realms and exacted tribute in full, he brought under his control Vatsabhūmika, Jītakara, Karṇane, Kevalā, Mṛttikāvatī, Mohana, Pattana, Tripurī, and Kosalā. After collecting revenues from every quarter, he set out toward the southern direction—an image of expanding sovereignty through force, where political success is measured by submission and the payment of dues.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a political ethic of kingship in epic narrative: conquest is validated by the establishment of control and the orderly collection of tribute. It implicitly raises the tension between power gained through force and the administrative duty of maintaining a realm through regulated revenue.
The speaker reports that a conquering figure subdues multiple regions, compels them to pay taxes/tribute, and then proceeds southward, indicating the continuation of a wider campaign of subjugation and consolidation.