Shloka 9
Rājasūya-sambhāra: Prosperity under Rājadharma and the Initiation of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Sacrifice
अनघानभयांश्रैव पशुभूमिं च सर्वश: । निवृत्य च महाबाहुर्मदधारं महीधरम्
anaghān abhayāṁś caiva paśubhūmiṁ ca sarvaśaḥ | nivṛtya ca mahābāhur madadhāraṁ mahīdharam || tatpaścāt mahātejasvī kuntīkumaras (bhīmaḥ) matsyān mahābalī maladān anaghān abhayān nāma deśān jitvā paśubhūmim api sarvato jitavān | tataḥ nivṛtya mahābāhur bhīmo madadhāraṁ mahīdharaṁ somadheyanivāsinaś ca parājitya | tataḥ paraṁ balavān bhīma uttaram abhīmukho yātrāṁ kṛtvā vatsabhūmau balāt svāmitvam akarot |
वैशम्पायन उवाच— अनघान् अभयान् चैव पशुभूमिं च सर्वशः जिगाय। निवृत्य च महाबाहुर्मदधारं महीधरं सोमधेयनिवासिनश्च पराजित्य, ततः परं बलवान् भीम उत्तरामुखः प्रययौ; वत्सभूमिं च बलात् वशीचकार।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the kṣatriya ideal of establishing sovereignty through successful campaigns, yet it also hints at an ethical tension: political order and legitimacy are pursued through coercive conquest, raising questions about when force serves dharma and when it merely expands power.
Vaiśampāyana narrates Bhīma’s sequence of victories during a campaign: he subdues Anagha and Abhaya, conquers Paśubhūmi, returns to defeat the Madadhāra mountain region and the Somadheya inhabitants, then turns north and takes control of Vatsabhūmi.