Arjuna’s Digvijaya After Maṇipura

After Maṇipura, the Pāṇḍava Aśvamedha horse kept wandering for the rest of its year, with Arjuna guarding it. A digvijaya (conquest of the directions) is made in this way: the horse goes where it wishes, and any king who stops it must fight. The horse went through Magadha, Cedi, Kāśī, Daśārṇa, the Nishāda country, the far south, Dvārakā and at last Gāndhāra. Some kings fought Arjuna and some submitted in peace. Each time, Arjuna now followed the same custom. He invited the kings he had defeated to come to Yudhishṭhira’s Aśvamedha at Hastināpura.

The defeat of Meghasandhi at Magadha

At Rājagṛha the horse was stopped by Meghasandhi. He was the son of Sahadeva of Magadha and the grandson of Jarāsandha, a young warrior firm in kshatriya dharma. Meghasandhi said that Arjuna was leading the horse about “like a woman”, and he declared that he would seize it.

Arjuna smiled. He explained that he was bound by Yudhishṭhira’s own vrata (vow) to stand against anyone who blocked the horse. The two fought. Arjuna cut down Meghasandhi’s horses, his charioteer, his bow, his banner, and at last his mace, as Meghasandhi charged on foot. Arjuna spared his life throughout, because Yudhishṭhira had forbidden the killing of kings.

Meghasandhi was honourably defeated. He said that he had lived only because of Yudhishṭhira’s decree. He bowed to Arjuna, and Arjuna invited him to the coming Aśvamedha at the next Caitra Pūrṇimā. The horse then went on. Arjuna overcame the kings of the Vaṅgas, Puṇḍras and Kosalas, and various mleccha forces along the seacoast, without further difficulty. This is from Chapter 82 of the Aśvamedhika Parva.

Through Cedi, Kāśī and Daśārṇa

The horse turned south and reached Śuktimatī, the city of the Cedi people. There Śarabha, the son of Śiśupāla, resisted for a short time and then honoured Arjuna. From there the horse passed with due honours through Kāśī, Aṅga, Kosala, the Kirāta country and Taṅgaṇa, and went on to the kingdom of Daśārṇa.

There the powerful warrior Citrāṅgada, called “crusher of foes”, fought Arjuna in a fierce and dangerous contest. Then he was brought to submit, and he joined the kings pledged to the Aśvamedha. This is from Chapter 83.

The Nishāda kingdom and the far south

From Daśārṇa the horse entered the country of the Nishādas, which was ruled by the son of Ekalavya. Arjuna fought him in a battle that made the very hair of the Nishādas stand on end. Like the others, Ekalavya’s son had come hoping to block the yajña. But Arjuna, the ever-unconquered son of Kuntī, won. He honoured the Nishāda king in turn and moved the horse on, toward the southern ocean.

In the far south Arjuna also overcame the Drāviḍas, the Āndhras, and the fierce peoples of Māhishmatī and Kollagiri. He then passed without a contest through the Surāṭha country, Gokarṇa and Prabhāsa. This is from Chapter 83.

Dvārakā and Ugrasena

The horse then reached Dvārakā, the splendid city of the Vṛshṇi heroes. The young Yādava princes seized the fine horse for sport, but King Ugrasena held them back at once. Ugrasena and Arjuna’s maternal uncle Vasudeva received Arjuna with great affection and in the proper way. With their leave, Arjuna went on in the direction the horse had taken. This is from Chapter 83.

Sindhu, Pañcanada and the approach to Gāndhāra

The horse next came to the western coastal country and the flourishing land of Pañcanada (the five rivers). From there it wandered on, with Arjuna following close behind, into Gāndhāra. There the son of Śakuni still carried the old enmity from Kurukshetra, and he met Arjuna in a fierce confrontation. The next chapter tells it in full. This is from Chapter 83.

The defeat and forgiveness of Śakuni’s son at Gāndhāra

The warriors of Gāndhāra could not forgive Śakuni’s death at Kurukshetra. They surrounded Arjuna with elephants, horses and chariots under banners and standards. Arjuna tried again and again to turn them back with the words Yudhishṭhira had sent. They would not give way, and they seized the horse.

At last Arjuna was provoked. He beheaded many of the attacking warriors with ease, and the Gāndhāra forces broke and scattered. Śakuni’s son then faced Arjuna himself. Arjuna kept to Yudhishṭhira’s decree against killing kings. He told the prince that the fight had gone far enough and that he had not truly lost. But the young prince was blinded by anger and went on loosing arrows.

Arjuna used an ardhacandra-bāṇa (a crescent-headed arrow), the same kind of arrow with which he had once beheaded Jayadratha. He cut away only the prince’s helmet. This spared his life, and it showed all the Gāndhāras that Arjuna had held back on purpose. The prince fled with his broken forces. Arjuna’s arrows struck the upraised arms of the pursuing survivors, not their bodies.

At length the queen mother of Gāndhāra came to the field herself, with ministers, elders and precious offerings. She calmed her son and appeased Arjuna. Arjuna received her with honour. He told the prince plainly that such enmity did not suit him, and that he lived only out of regard for Gāndhārī, Arjuna’s own aunt by marriage. He told the prince to give up this feud and to come instead to Yudhishṭhira’s Aśvamedha at the coming Caitra Pūrṇimā. This is from Chapter 84.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 82 (Meghasandhi at Magadha; the Vaṅga, Puṇḍra and Kosala kings)
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 83 (Cedi, Kāśī, Daśārṇa, the Nishādas, the far south, Dvārakā, Pañcanada and the approach to Gāndhāra)
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 84 (Śakuni’s son at Gāndhāra)