Shloka 2
अध्याय ८ — शल्यस्य सत्कारः, वरदानं, पाण्डवसमागमश्च (Śalya’s Reception, the Boon, and Meeting the Pāṇḍavas)
तस्य सेनानिवेशो5भूदध्यर्थमिव योजनम् । तथा हि विपुलां सेनां बिभर्ति स नरर्षभ:,नरश्रेष्ठ शल्य इतनी अधिक सेनाका भरण-पोषण करते थे कि उसका पड़ाव पड़नेपर आधी योजन भूमि घिर जाती थी
tasya senāniveśo 'bhūd adhyardham iva yojanam | tathā hi vipulāṃ senāṃ bibharti sa nararṣabhaḥ ||
ค่ายทัพของเขาแผ่กว้างราวครึ่งโยชน์; เพราะศัลยะผู้เป็นยอดบุรุษสามารถอุปถัมภ์และเลี้ยงดูไพร่พลอันมหาศาลเช่นนั้นได้. คาถานี้เน้นไม่เพียงขนาดของกองทัพ หากยังชี้ถึงภาระเสบียงและความรับผิดชอบของผู้นำ.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that the might of an army is inseparable from the duty of sustaining it. True leadership in a dharmic sense includes the capacity to provide, organize, and bear the material responsibility that accompanies power—especially when war is imminent.
Vaiśampāyana describes the scale of a military encampment: it covered roughly half a yojana. This is presented as evidence of how enormous the army was and how the leader—praised as a ‘bull among men’—could maintain and provision such a force.