Shloka 61

Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality

Devanagari script

निजग्राह महाबाहुस्तरसा पौरवेश्वरम्‌ । आकृतिं कौशिकाचार्य यत्नेन महता तत:

Transliteration

nijagrāha mahābāhus tarasā pauraveśvaram | ākṛtiṁ kauśikācārya yatnena mahatā tataḥ ||

Translation

तेव्हा महाबाहूने वेगाने पौरवेश्वराला पकडले. त्यानंतर मोठ्या प्रयत्नाने त्याने कौशिकाचार्याचा शिष्य आकृतिलाही वश केले.

Word by Word

निजग्राहseized, grasped

महाबाहुःthe mighty-armed (one)

तरसाwith force, swiftly

पौरवेश्वरम्the lord of the Pauravas

आकृतिम्form, shape

कौशिकाचार्यO teacher Kauśika

यत्नेनwith effort

महताgreat, mighty

ततःthen, thereafter

Speaker

सहदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sahadeva

mahābāhu (the mighty-armed one; unnamed in this verse)

Pauraveśvara (lord of the Pauravas)

Kauśikācārya (a teacher associated with Kauśika)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power is ethically meaningful when used as restraint rather than as cruelty: the hero’s strength is directed toward controlling a volatile situation and preventing further harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sahadeva narrates that a mighty warrior quickly seizes the Paurava ruler and then, with considerable effort, also subdues a figure addressed as Kauśikācārya, indicating a forceful containment of key persons in the episode.