Shloka 53
Virāṭanagara-nivāsa-nirṇaya
Decision to Reside in Virāṭa’s City
दशार्णा नवराष्ट्राश्न मल्ला: शाल्वा युगन्धरा: । कुन्तिराष्ट्रं च विपुलं सुराष्ट्रावन््तयस्तथा
Daśārṇā navarāṣṭrāś ca mallāḥ śālvā yugandharāḥ | Kuntirāṣṭraṃ ca vipulaṃ surāṣṭrāvantayastathā ||
അർജുനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ദശാർണർ, നവരാഷ്ട്രർ, മല്ലർ, ശാൽവർ, യുഗന്ധരർ ഇവരുണ്ട്; അതുപോലെ വിശാലമായ കുന്തിരാഷ്ട്രവും, സൗരാഷ്ട്രവും അവന്തിയും ഉണ്ട്.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the breadth of society implicated in royal conflict: many janapadas and peoples are named, suggesting that political decisions and warfare have wide-reaching consequences beyond a single household—an implicit ethical caution about the collective cost of power struggles.
Arjuna is enumerating various regions/peoples—Daśārṇa, Navarāṣṭra, Malla, Śālva, Yugandhara, Kuntirāṣṭra, Saurāṣṭra, and Avanti—within a broader listing that maps the political landscape relevant to the events of the Virāṭa Parva.