Shloka 10
नकुलस्य प्रतीची-दिग्विजयः
Nakula’s Conquest of the Western Quarter
ततो दक्षिणमागम्य पुलिन्दनगरं महत् | सुकुमारं वशे चक्रे सुमित्रं च नराधिपम्,महता बलचक्रेण परराष्ट्रावमर्दिना । हस्त्यश्वरथपूर्णेन दंशितेन प्रतापवान् २ ।।
tato dakṣiṇam āgamya pulindanagaraṁ mahat | sukumāraṁ vaśe cakre sumitraṁ ca narādhipam, mahatā balacakreṇa pararāṣṭrāvamardinā | hastyaśvarathapūrṇena daṁśitena pratāpavān || vṛto bharataśārṭūlo dviṣacchokavivarddhanaḥ |
वैशंपायन म्हणाले—हे जनमेजय! त्यानंतर दक्षिणेकडे येऊन त्या महावीराने पुलिंदांचे महान नगर सुकुमार आपल्या अधीन केले आणि तेथील नराधिप सुमित्रालाही वश केले. परराष्ट्रांना चिरडणाऱ्या महाबलचक्राने वेढलेला, हत्ती-घोडे-रथांनी परिपूर्ण व शस्त्र-कवचांनी सज्ज असा तो भरतशार्दूल शत्रूंचा शोक वाढवीत मोहिमेत पुढे सरसावला.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reflects the political-ethical frame of rājadharma: a ruler (or his commander) asserts sovereignty by compelling obedience and tribute from peripheral regions. Power is portrayed as organized and disciplined (a well-equipped host), and conquest is presented as an instrument of statecraft rather than personal vendetta.
The narrator describes a southern advance into Pulinda territory. The great city called Sukumāra and its king Sumitra are subdued by a powerful, fully equipped army containing elephants, horses, and chariots; the conqueror is praised as a ‘tiger among the Bharatas’ who increases the grief of enemies.