Shloka 29
सेनासमागमः — The Convergence of Armies
राज्ञां स्वबलमुख्यानां प्राधान्येनापि भारत । राजन! दुर्योधनकी अपनी सेनाके जो प्रधान-प्रधान राजा थे, उनके भी ठहरनेके लिये हस्तिनापुरमें स्थान नहीं रह गया था ।।
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | rājñāṃ svabalamukhyānāṃ prādhānyenāpi bhārata | rājann duryodhanasya senāyāḥ pradhāna-pradhānā rājāno 'pi sthātum hastināpure sthānaṃ naiva śeṣam āsīt || tataḥ pañcanadaṃ caiva kṛtsnaṃ ca kurujāṅgalam | rohitakavanaṃ caiva marubhūmiṃ samantataḥ | ahicchatraṃ kālakūṭaṃ gaṅgātaṭaṃ varaṇaṃ vāṭadhānaṃ tathā yāmunaparvataṃ ca | etat prabhūta-dhana-dhānya-sampannaṃ suvistṛtaṃ deśaṃ kaurava-senayā samantād āvṛtaṃ babhūva ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「おお、バーラタよ。ドゥルヨーダナの主たる同盟者として来集した、各々が自軍を率い高位にある最前列の諸王でさえ、ハスティナープラにはもはや宿営の余地を得られなかった。ゆえに、パンチャナダ（Pañcanada）全域とクル・ジャーンガラ（Kuru-jāṅgala）全土、ローヒタカの森（Rohitaka）、周辺の砂漠地帯、アヒッチャトラ（Ahicchatra）、カーラクトゥ（Kālakūṭa）、ガンガー（Gaṅgā）の河岸、ヴァラナ（Varaṇa）、ヴァータダーナ（Vāṭadhāna）、そしてヤームナー（Yāmuna）と呼ばれる山地——財と穀に富む広大な国土は、カウラヴァ軍によって周到に包囲され、満ちあふれた。」
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked political ambition and the gathering of military power can overwhelm civic life: even a capital city cannot contain the influx of allied forces. Ethically, it foreshadows the social and material strain that precedes adharma-driven war—where the pursuit of dominance displaces order and burdens the land and people.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the massive mustering of Duryodhana’s allied kings and their troops. Hastināpura runs out of space to accommodate them, so the Kaurava forces spread out and effectively occupy/encircle a wide set of regions—Pañcanada, Kuru-jāṅgala, and other named locales—showing the scale of the impending conflict.