Shloka 10
नकुलस्य प्रतीची-दिग्विजयः
Nakula’s Conquest of the Western Quarter
ततो दक्षिणमागम्य पुलिन्दनगरं महत् | सुकुमारं वशे चक्रे सुमित्रं च नराधिपम्,महता बलचक्रेण परराष्ट्रावमर्दिना । हस्त्यश्वरथपूर्णेन दंशितेन प्रतापवान् २ ।। वृतो भरतशार्टूलो द्विषच्छोकविवर्द्धन: । वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! इसी समय शत्रुओंका शोक बढ़ानेवाले भरतवंशशिरोमणि महाप्रतापी एवं पराक्रमी भीमसेन भी धर्मराजकी आज्ञा ले, शत्रुके राज्यको कुचल देनेवाली और हाथी, घोड़े एवं रथसे भरी हुई, कवच आदिसे सुसज्जित विशाल सेनाके साथ पूर्व दिशाको जीतनेके लिये चले तदनन्तर दक्षिण आकर पुलिन्दोंके महान् नगर सुकुमार और वहाँके राजा सुमित्रको अपने अधीन कर लिया
tato dakṣiṇam āgamya pulindanagaraṁ mahat | sukumāraṁ vaśe cakre sumitraṁ ca narādhipam, mahatā balacakreṇa pararāṣṭrāvamardinā | hastyaśvarathapūrṇena daṁśitena pratāpavān || vṛto bharataśārṭūlo dviṣacchokavivarddhanaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: Then, turning south, the mighty hero came to the great city of the Pulindas. With a vast, well-equipped host—crushing hostile realms, and filled with elephants, horses, and chariots—he brought the city of Sukumāra under control, and also subdued Sumitra, the ruler of men there. Thus the tiger among the Bharatas, increasing the sorrow of his foes, advanced in the campaign of conquest carried out under royal command—an assertion of sovereignty through force, framed within the political duty of securing tribute and obedience.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reflects the political-ethical frame of rājadharma: a ruler (or his commander) asserts sovereignty by compelling obedience and tribute from peripheral regions. Power is portrayed as organized and disciplined (a well-equipped host), and conquest is presented as an instrument of statecraft rather than personal vendetta.
The narrator describes a southern advance into Pulinda territory. The great city called Sukumāra and its king Sumitra are subdued by a powerful, fully equipped army containing elephants, horses, and chariots; the conqueror is praised as a ‘tiger among the Bharatas’ who increases the grief of enemies.