Shloka 596
Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality
माद्रीसुतस्तत: प्रायाद् विजयी दक्षिणां दिशम् | राजा नीलकी वह पूजा ग्रहणकर और उनपर कर लगाकर विजयी माद्रीकुमार सहदेव दक्षिण दिशाकी ओर बढ़ गये
mādrīsutas tataḥ prāyād vijayī dakṣiṇāṃ diśam | rājā nīlakiḥ sa pūjāṃ gṛhītvā teṣāṃ ca karaṃ samāropya vijayī mādrīkumāraḥ sahadevo dakṣiṇāṃ diśaṃ pravavṛte |
Kemudian Sahadeva, putera Mādrī yang menang, berangkat menuju arah selatan. Setelah menerima sembah dan ufti Raja Nīlaka serta mengenakan cukai adat ke atas kerajaannya, putera Mādrī yang triumf itu meneruskan kempen ke selatan—mengembangkan upacara kedaulatan Pāṇḍava melalui penyerahan yang teratur, bukan keganasan yang sia-sia.
सहदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights dharmic statecraft in a conquest undertaken for a royal rite: victory is shown through orderly submission—accepting honour and tribute and establishing lawful revenue—rather than through gratuitous destruction.
During the Pāṇḍavas’ preparations for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya, Sahadeva conducts the southern digvijaya. After King Nīlaka offers homage and tribute, Sahadeva accepts it, sets the appropriate levy, and proceeds further south.