Shloka 21
Rājasūya-sambhāra: Prosperity under Rājadharma and the Initiation of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Sacrifice
अथ मोदागिरौ चैव राजानं बलवत्तरम् | पाण्डवो बाहुवीर्येण निजघान महामृधे
atha modāgirau caiva rājānaṃ balavattaram | pāṇḍavo bāhuvīryeṇa nijaghāna mahāmṛdhe ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Kemudian di Modāgiri, sang Pāṇḍava (Bhīma) menumbangkan dalam pertempuran besar seorang raja yang amat perkasa dengan kekuatan lengannya sendiri.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of decisive action and personal valor in securing political aims. At the same time, it implicitly points to the ethical tension of conquest: order and sovereignty are established through force, making dharma in statecraft inseparable from restraint, responsibility, and the consequences of violence.
During the Pāṇḍavas’ campaign of subjugation and tribute-collection associated with Yudhiṣṭhira’s imperial project, Bhīma reaches Modāgiri and, in a major battle, overpowers and kills/defeats a particularly strong king by sheer arm-strength.