Shloka 25
Rājasūya-sambhāra: Prosperity under Rājadharma and the Initiation of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Sacrifice
सुह्यानामधिपं चैव ये च सागरवासिन: । सर्वान् म्लेच्छगणांश्वैव विजिग्ये भरतर्षभ:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
śuhyānām adhipaṃ caiva ye ca sāgaravāsinaḥ |
sarvān mlecchagaṇāṃś caiva vijigye bharatarṣabhaḥ ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。ついでビーマは、バーラタ族の雄牛として、シュフヤ族の主を屈服させ、また海辺に住まう者どもをも従えた。まことに、海の岸に住むミレッチャの群れをことごとく支配下に置いたのである。この段は、ビーマの遠征を帝権の統合の延長として描き、辺境の民と沿岸の地に政治秩序を打ち立てて、味方の大いなる王権の目的に奉ずることを示している。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic ideal of royal consolidation: a powerful agent of the king extends control over distant regions and frontier peoples, presenting political unification and the establishment of order as a key function of sovereignty in the Mahābhārata’s world.
During the wider campaign of subjugating regions for imperial purposes, Bhīma is described as defeating the Śuhya ruler and bringing under control the coastal peoples and various mleccha groups living by the sea.