Shloka 13
Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality
कान्तारकांश्व समरे तथा प्राक्कोसलान् नृपान् | नाटकेयांश्व॒ समरे तथा हेरम्बकान् युधि,माद्रीनन्दनने उस संग्राममें दुर्ध्ष वीर भीष्मकको परास्त करके कोसलाधिपति, वेणानदीके तटवर्ती प्रदेशोंके स्वामी, कान्तारक तथा पूर्वकोसलके राजाओंको भी समरमें पराजित किया। तत्पश्चात् नाटकेयों और हेरम्बकोंको भी युद्धमें हराया
kāntārakāṃś ca samare tathā prākkosalān nṛpān | nāṭakeyāṃś ca samare tathā herambakān yudhi ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: Em batalha, ele também subjugou os reis de Kāntāraka e de Prākkosala; e, no choque das armas, derrotou igualmente os Nāṭakeyas e os Herambakas.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse itself is not a moral injunction but a narrative record of conquests. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such victory-lists invite reflection on kṣatriya dharma—how rulers seek legitimacy through warfare—and on the moral cost of ambition and expansion.
Vaiśampāyana continues enumerating the opponents defeated in a campaign: the kings of Kāntāraka and Eastern Kosala, and then the Nāṭakeyas and Herambakas, all overcome in battle.