Nārada’s Account of the Kaliṅga Svayaṃvara: Duryodhana’s Seizure and Karṇa’s Escort
शृगालश्न महाराज: स्त्रीराज्याधिपतिश्न यः । अशोक: शतधन्वा च भोजो वीरश्न नामत:
nārada uvāca | śṛgālaś ca mahārājaḥ strīrājyādhipatiś ca yaḥ | aśokaḥ śatadhanvā ca bhojo vīraś ca nāmataḥ | śiśupālaḥ jarāsandho bhīṣmako vakraḥ kapotaromā nīlaḥ sudṛḍhaparākramī rukmī ca |
Nārada disse: “Ó rei, houve Śṛgāla, e também certo soberano do ‘reino das mulheres’; e Aśoka, Śatadhanvā, Bhoja, e um chamado Vīra. Do mesmo modo (houve) Śiśupāla, Jarāsandha, Bhīṣmaka, Vakra, Kapotaromā, Nīla, e o firmemente valente Rukmī.”
नारद उवाच
The verse functions as an ethical reminder through enumeration: many rulers attain power and notoriety, but their names ultimately stand as examples assessed by dharma; fame is unstable, and moral consequence outlasts political might.
Nārada is speaking and reciting a catalogue of kings/warriors—Śṛgāla, a ruler of the ‘women’s kingdom,’ Aśoka, Śatadhanvā, Bhoja, Vīra, and others such as Śiśupāla and Jarāsandha—within a broader Shānti Parva discourse that uses historical-epic exempla to instruct on righteous conduct and governance.