Shloka 15
Adhyaya 60: Self-Assertion, Daiva, and the Rhetoric of Inevitability (उद्योग पर्व)
अक्षौहिणीभिर्यान् देशान् यामि कार्येण केनचित् । तत्राश्वा मे प्रवर्तन्ते यत्र यत्राभिकामये,“मैं किसी कार्यके उद्देश्यसे जिन-जिन देशोंमें अनेक अक्षौहिणी सेनाएँ लेकर जाता हूँ, उनमें जहाँ-जहाँ मेरी इच्छा होती है, उन सभी स्थानोंमें मेरे घोड़े (अप्रतिहत गतिसे) विचरते हैं
akṣauhīṇībhir yān deśān yāmi kāryeṇa kenacit | tatrāśvā me pravartante yatra yatrābhikāmaye ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Kapag, dahil sa isang layunin, naglalakbay ako sa alinmang lupain na may kasamang maraming pangkat ng hukbong akṣauhiṇī, doon malayang nakalilibot ang aking mga kabayo—saan man ako magnais, doon sila nakararating nang walang hadlang.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the outward signs of sovereignty—armies and mobility—showing how power enables unrestricted movement. Ethically, it can be read as a caution: such freedom often reflects dominance and may feed pride, inviting reflection on whether strength is guided by dharma or mere ambition.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a speaker (implicitly a powerful ruler/warrior) boasts of traveling across many regions with vast forces (akṣauhiṇīs), claiming that his horses can go wherever he wishes without obstruction—an assertion of control and military supremacy.