Shloka 10

Śiśupāla’s Protest Against the Arghya to Kṛṣṇa (शिशुपाल-आक्षेपः)

Devanagari script

स तु सर्वे: सह म्लेच्छै: सागरानूपवासिभि: | पर्वतीयाश्व॒ राजानो राजा चैव बृहद्धल:

Transliteration

sa tu sarvaiḥ saha mlecchaiḥ sāgarānūpavāsibhiḥ | parvatīyāś ca rājāno rājā caiva bṛhaddhalaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：他与一切弥勒叉（Mleccha）诸酋长，以及居于海滨与泽地之民，又有山地诸王——并与布利哈达陀罗（Bṛhaddhala）王一道——皆来赴此集会。

Word by Word

सःhe

तुbut/indeed

सर्वैःwith all

सहtogether with

म्लेच्छैःwith the Mlecchas (foreign tribes)

सागर-अनूप-वासिभिःwith those dwelling on sea-coasts and marshes

पर्वतीयाःmountain(-dwelling)

चand

राजानःkings

राजाthe king

चand

एवindeed/just

बृहद्धलःBṛhaddhala (name of a king; lit. 'having a great army')

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mlecchas

Sāgara (the sea)

Ānūpa regions (marsh/riverine tracts)

Parvatīya kings (hill-region rulers)

King Bṛhaddhala

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the expansive reach of political power and summons: even distant or socially marked groups (mlecchas, coastal and marshland dwellers, hill-kings) are drawn into the epic’s central arena. Ethically, it hints that major decisions and conflicts implicate a broad human landscape, not only the elite at the center.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is listing those who came together—various groups and rulers from different terrains—specifically noting Mleccha chiefs, coastal and marshland inhabitants, mountain kings, and King Bṛhaddhala as part of the assembled participants.