Shloka 25
Rājasūya-sambhāra: Prosperity under Rājadharma and the Initiation of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Sacrifice
सुह्यानामधिपं चैव ये च सागरवासिन: । सर्वान् म्लेच्छगणांश्वैव विजिग्ये भरतर्षभ:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
śuhyānām adhipaṃ caiva ye ca sāgaravāsinaḥ |
sarvān mlecchagaṇāṃś caiva vijigye bharatarṣabhaḥ ||
सुह्यानामधिपं चैव ये च सागरवासिनः । सर्वान् म्लेच्छगणांश्चैव विजिग्ये भरतर्षभः ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic ideal of royal consolidation: a powerful agent of the king extends control over distant regions and frontier peoples, presenting political unification and the establishment of order as a key function of sovereignty in the Mahābhārata’s world.
During the wider campaign of subjugating regions for imperial purposes, Bhīma is described as defeating the Śuhya ruler and bringing under control the coastal peoples and various mleccha groups living by the sea.