Shloka 17
Abhimanyu’s Śrāddha; Vyāsa’s Assurance of the Unborn Heir (अभिमन्योः श्राद्धं तथा गर्भरक्षणोपदेशः)
निहत्य पृथिवीपालान् सहस्रशतसंघश:
nihatya pṛthivīpālān sahasraśatasaṅghaśaḥ
វៃសម្បាយនៈបាននិយាយថា៖ បន្ទាប់ពីសម្លាប់ស្តេចនានានៃផែនដីជាក្រុមៗរាប់ពាន់រាប់រយ ពួកគេបានបន្តទៅមុខ—រូបភាពនៃជ័យជម្នះដ៏លើសលប់ ដែលបញ្ជាក់ពីទម្ងន់សីលធម៌ដ៏ងងឹតនៃជ័យជម្នះដែលបានទទួលដោយអំពើហិង្សាដ៏ធំធេង។
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line highlights the scale of warfare and conquest and implicitly raises the ethical burden of kingship: victory and political order often come at the cost of immense bloodshed, inviting reflection on dharma, restraint, and the consequences of violence.
The narrator describes a campaign or sequence of battles in which numerous kings are killed in large numbers—"by hundreds and thousands"—conveying the magnitude of conflict within the Ashvamedhika Parva’s post-war political consolidation.