Shloka 22
जयद्रथविमोचन–पलायनवृत्तान्तः
Recovery of Draupadī and Jayadratha’s flight
एवं स पृथिवीं सर्वा वशे कृत्वा महारथ: । विजित्य पुरुषव्याप्रो नागसाह्कयमागमत्,इस प्रकार पुरुषसिंह महारथी कर्ण नग्नजित् आदि महारथी नरेशसमुदायोंको जीतकर सारी पृथ्वीको पराजित करके अपने वशमें कर लेनेके पश्चात् हस्तिनापुरको लौट आया /
evaṁ sa pṛthivīṁ sarvāṁ vaśe kṛtvā mahārathaḥ | vijitya puruṣavyāghro nāgasāhvyam āgamat ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Having brought the whole earth under his control, that great chariot-warrior—lion among men—after conquering the assemblies of kings such as Nagnajit and other mighty rulers, returned to Nāgasāhvya (Hastināpura). The verse underscores the political ethic of kingship in which sovereignty is asserted through conquest, yet it also hints at the moral tension of imperial ambition and the burdens such victories place upon dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reflects the idealized Kṣatriya model where a ruler establishes supremacy through conquest and then returns to the capital as a recognized sovereign. At the same time, it invites reflection on the ethical strain between worldly expansion (artha, power) and the sustaining demands of dharma—how victory and domination can conflict with restraint and justice.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the hero (understood here as Karṇa in this episode) subdues many kings—Nagnajit and others—bringing the whole realm under his sway, and then returns to Nāgasāhvya, i.e., Hastināpura, after completing his campaign.