Shloka 20
नकुलस्य प्रतीची-दिग्विजयः
Nakula’s Conquest of the Western Quarter
महता बलचक्रेण परराष्ट्रावमर्दिना । हस्त्यश्वरथपूर्णेन दंशितेन प्रतापवान् २ ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca | mahatā balacakreṇa pararāṣṭrāvamardinā | hasty-aśva-ratha-pūrṇena daṃśitena pratāpavān || vṛto bharataśārṭūlo dviṣac-choka-vivardhanaḥ |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「敵国を砕く大いなる軍勢の輪——象・馬・戦車に満ち、武具甲冑を完備した軍——に囲まれ、威光あふれる猛き勇士、バーラタ族の虎は、王命を果たすべく出陣するや、敵の嘆きをいよいよ増し加える原因となった。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of executing royal command through disciplined, well-equipped force: power is portrayed as legitimate when organized under authority and directed toward a defined political objective (subduing hostile realms), while also emphasizing the moral weight of warfare as it brings sorrow to opponents.
Vaiśampāyana describes a leading Bharata hero setting out attended by a massive, fully armed army—elephants, horses, and chariots in abundance—whose very march is said to increase the grief of enemies, as part of the broader campaign of conquest undertaken under the king’s order.