Shloka 18
नकुलस्य प्रतीची-दिग्विजयः
Nakula’s Conquest of the Western Quarter
महता बलचक्रेण परराष्ट्रावमर्दिना । हस्त्यश्वरथपूर्णेन दंशितेन प्रतापवान् २ ।।
mahātā balacakreṇa pararāṣṭrāvamardinā | hasty-aśva-ratha-pūrṇena daṃśitena pratāpavān || vṛto bharataśārdūlo dviṣac-choka-vivardhanaḥ |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「そしてその猛き勇士——バーラタ族の虎、敵の嘆きを増し加える者——は、堅固な甲冑に整えられた大軍に囲まれて進軍した。敵国を踏み潰すべき権力の輪であり、象・馬・戦車に満ちていた。叙事詩の倫理において、この行軍は私闘ではなく、王命に基づく正当な王権の政策として描かれる。秩序と主権を確保するための組織された力であり、たとえ抗う者の悲しみを深めようとも。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames military action as an instrument of rajadharma: when undertaken under rightful command and for establishing sovereignty, force is portrayed as legitimate statecraft—though it inevitably produces suffering for opponents, underscoring the moral weight of political power.
Vaiśampāyana describes a leading Bharata hero (identified in the Gītā Press context as Bhīmasena) departing with a huge, well-equipped army—elephants, horses, and chariots—to subdue hostile kingdoms as part of the wider campaign of conquest.