Shloka 1
Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 77 — Saindhava resistance, Arjuna’s restraint, and Duḥśalā’s supplication
ऑपन-माज बछ। डे सप्तसप्ततितमो<ध्याय: अर्जुनका सैन्धवोंके साथ युद्ध वैशम्पायन उवाच (जित्वा प्रसाद्य राजानं भगदत्तसुतं तदा । विसृज्य याते तुरगे सैन्धवान् प्रति भारत ।।) सैन्धवैरभवद् युद्ध ततस्तस्य किरीटिन: । हतशेषैर्महाराज हतानां च सुतैरपि,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--भरतनन्दन! महाराज भगदत्तके पुत्र राजा वज्रदत्तको पराजित और प्रसन्न करनेके पश्चात् उसे विदा करके जब अर्जुनका घोड़ा सिंधुदेशमें गया, तब महाभारत-युद्धमें मरनेसे बचे हुए सिंधुदेशीय योद्धाओं तथा मारे गये राजाओंके पुत्रोंके साथ किरीटधारी अर्जुनका घोर संग्राम हुआ
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
jitvā prasādya rājānaṃ bhagadattasutaṃ tadā |
visṛjya yāte turage saindhavān prati bhārata ||
saindhavair abhavad yuddhaṃ tatas tasya kirīṭinaḥ |
hataśeṣair mahārāja hatānāṃ ca sutair api ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Ó Bhārata, depois que Arjuna derrotou e, em seguida, com magnanimidade apaziguou o rei Vajradatta, filho de Bhagadatta, e o despediu, o cavalo do sacrifício avançou para a terra do Sindhu. Então Arjuna, o de diadema, foi arrastado a uma batalha feroz com os guerreiros do Sindhu que haviam sobrevivido à grande guerra, e também com os filhos dos reis que tinham sido mortos.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a campaign of conquest, the narrative highlights measured kingship: Arjuna defeats Vajradatta yet then ‘prasādya’—treats him with conciliatory favor—showing that power is ideally tempered by restraint and political reconciliation, not mere destruction.
During Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha, Arjuna escorts the sacrificial horse. After dealing with Vajradatta, the horse enters Sindhu territory, where Arjuna is challenged and fights the Saindhavas—both survivors of the earlier Mahābhārata war and the sons of kings who had fallen.