Shloka 1
Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 77 — Saindhava resistance, Arjuna’s restraint, and Duḥśalā’s supplication
ऑपन-माज बछ। डे सप्तसप्ततितमो<ध्याय: अर्जुनका सैन्धवोंके साथ युद्ध वैशम्पायन उवाच (जित्वा प्रसाद्य राजानं भगदत्तसुतं तदा । विसृज्य याते तुरगे सैन्धवान् प्रति भारत ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
jitvā prasādya rājānaṃ bhagadattasutaṃ tadā |
visṛjya yāte turage saindhavān prati bhārata ||
saindhavair abhavad yuddhaṃ tatas tasya kirīṭinaḥ |
hataśeṣair mahārāja hatānāṃ ca sutair api ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：“噢，婆罗多啊！阿周那战胜了薄伽达多之子金刚达多，又以宽仁使其心悦而退去；其后祭马行向信度之地。于是，戴冠的阿周那与信度诸勇士——那场大征战的幸存者——以及诸被杀国王之子，展开了一场惨烈的鏖战。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a campaign of conquest, the narrative highlights measured kingship: Arjuna defeats Vajradatta yet then ‘prasādya’—treats him with conciliatory favor—showing that power is ideally tempered by restraint and political reconciliation, not mere destruction.
During Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha, Arjuna escorts the sacrificial horse. After dealing with Vajradatta, the horse enters Sindhu territory, where Arjuna is challenged and fights the Saindhavas—both survivors of the earlier Mahābhārata war and the sons of kings who had fallen.