Shloka 2
वज्रदत्तेन सह अर्जुनयुद्धम्
Arjuna’s engagement with Vajradatta during the Aśvamedha circuit
स हयं पाण्डुपुत्रस्य विषयान्तमुपागतम् । युयुधे भरतश्रेष्ठ वज्जदत्तो महीपति:
sa hayaṁ pāṇḍuputrasya viṣayāntam upāgatam | yuyudhe bharataśreṣṭha vajradatto mahīpatiḥ ||
ਵੈਸ਼ੰਪਾਯਨ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—ਹੇ ਭਰਤਸ਼੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ, ਜਦੋਂ ਪਾਂਡੁਪੁੱਤਰ ਦਾ ਯਜ੍ਞ-ਅਸ਼ਵ ਉਸ ਦੇ ਰਾਜ ਦੀ ਸੀਮਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਆ ਪਹੁੰਚਿਆ, ਤਦ ਮਹੀਪਤੀ ਵਜ੍ਰਦੱਤ ਉਸ ਨਾਲ ਯੁੱਧ ਕਰਨ ਲੱਗਾ।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dharmic tension between imperial ritual authority (the Aśvamedha horse roaming as a sign of overlordship) and a local king’s duty to defend his realm’s borders; conflict arises when sovereignty is tested at the frontier.
During Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha, the sacrificial horse enters the boundary of Vajradatta’s territory, and Vajradatta, as king, prepares to oppose it—initiating a battle episode connected to the horse’s passage.