Pāṇḍava Digvijaya

To qualify for the Rājasūya Yajña, Yudhishṭhira needed the submission of all the kings of Bhārata. After the Jarāsandha Vadha, the four younger Pāṇḍavas each led a separate army in one of the four directions. Arjuna went north, Bhīma east, Sahadeva south and Nakula west. A digvijaya is a conquest of the directions.

In their campaigns they came to wonderful kingdoms and fought battles of different difficulty. Some kings gave tribute without a fight. In Sahadeva’s southern campaign, the king of Māhishmatī was protected from conquest by an old vara (boon) of Agni. The four digvijayas together established Yudhishṭhira’s rule over the known world and made the Rājasūya possible.

Planning the digvijaya

After the eighty-six kings were freed from Girivraja, Kṛshṇa returned to Indraprastha with the great tribute gathered in the Jarāsandha campaign. Yudhishṭhira was unsure about the Rājasūya. He said: “Kṛshṇa, I see the troubles that kingship brings, and I am not sure whether a king’s ambition is truly in keeping with dharma.”

Kṛshṇa answered plainly. A righteous king who refuses to use his sovereignty is as much at fault as one who uses it wrongly. Dharma requires the strong to protect the weak, and that protection is possible only when sovereignty is real and acknowledged.

The Pāṇḍavas then decided on the conquest of the four directions:

• Arjuna went north (uttara digvijaya).
• Bhīma went east (pūrva digvijaya).
• Sahadeva went south (dakshiṇa digvijaya).
• Nakula went west (paścima digvijaya).

Each set out with a division of the Pāṇḍava army. (Chapter 17)

Arjuna’s northern campaign

Arjuna led his forces north, a direction linked with the divine: Indra’s realm, Kailāsa and Meru. His campaign covered the lands of greatest importance in the cosmos.

He first brought the Pāñcāla kings and other neighbours under his rule. Moving further north, he reached Uttara Kuru, the northern land where the people lived in natural plenty and harmony with dharma. Here Arjuna received gifts without a battle, because the people freely accepted the glory of the Pāṇḍava.

Beyond Uttara Kuru, Arjuna reached the slopes of Mount Meru and the Jambūnadī, the golden river that flows from Meru and carries the finest gold in the world. He travelled through Ilāvṛta-varsha, Bhadrāśva-varsha, Hiraṇyaka, Ramyaka and the great mountain Śvetaparvata. He visited Gandhamādana and the holy region of Ketumāla.

In some of these northern regions the kings and siddhas (perfected beings) of those high lands offered submission without battle, for they saw the dharmic purpose of Arjuna’s mission. Arjuna came back with great northern tribute: horses of divine breed, gold from the Jambū river, jewels from the Meru ranges, and the promise of northern kings to attend the Rājasūya. (Chapters 18–22, 27–28)

Bhīma’s eastern campaign

Bhīma marched east, a direction linked with the rising sun and with Indra’s victories. He brought Pāñcāla in the eastern lands under his rule, passed through Videha (Mithilā), and reached Daśārṇa.

An important event took place in Cedī. Bhīma met Śiśupāla, king of Cedī. Śiśupāla was Kṛshṇa’s enemy and was not inclined to submit to any Pāṇḍava. Yet he did submit to Bhīma’s campaign. He would voice his enmity more openly later, at the Rājasūya itself.

Bhīma also met Karṇa on his eastern campaign. Karṇa submitted to Bhīma’s force.

Going on east, Bhīma reached Vaṅga (Bengal) and the Lauhitya, the great Brahmaputra river that flows to the sea. The eastern kings submitted. Bhīma came back with a great wealth of elephants, fine cloth and tropical produce. (Chapters 23–24, 29–30)

Sahadeva’s southern campaign

Sahadeva led his forces south. Two remarkable events marked this campaign, unlike anything in the other three.

Māhishmatī

Sahadeva marched through the Deccan and reached the great southern kingdom of Māhishmatī on the Narmadā, ruled by King Nīla. When Sahadeva’s forces tried to enter the city, they were driven back, not by weapons but by fire. Flames broke out of themselves at the gates, on the roads, and wherever the Pāṇḍava army advanced. Soldiers were burned. Horses reared away from the heat. Sahadeva himself was startled.

The reason was this. Agni, the deva of fire, had given an old vara (boon) to Nīla in return for his faithful pūjā. Agni had promised to protect Māhishmatī from conquest, and the vara was still in force. No army, however strong, could enter Māhishmatī against the king’s will while Agni kept up his protection.

Sahadeva did not try to break the vara by force. He approached Nīla with respectful words, explained the dharmic purpose of the Rājasūya, and appealed to Nīla’s own sense of what is right. Nīla was pleased with Sahadeva’s conduct and chose to submit of his own will. The southern digvijaya could go on.

The battle at Kishkindhā

Further south Sahadeva reached Kishkindhā, the old vānara capital, which was now ruled by the great vānara warriors Mainda and Dvivida. The two were of extraordinary strength, gandharva-born warriors of great power. Neither Sahadeva nor his whole army could defeat them in battle. The fight lasted seven days.

On the seventh day the vānara warriors paused. Mainda spoke to Sahadeva: “O Pāṇḍava, we fought you to test your worth, not out of enmity. We are the disciples of the immortal warriors of the Rāmāyaṇa age. We submit to you and to the purpose of Yudhishṭhira’s yajña.”

Laṅkā and Vibhīshaṇa

Still further south Sahadeva came to the tip of Bhāratavarsha, the edge of the sea, across which lay Laṅkā. He did not try to cross the sea by ship. He sent Ghaṭotkaca, the rākshasa son of Bhīma, as a dūta (messenger) across the water to Vibhīshaṇa, king of Laṅkā. Vibhīshaṇa had been Rāvaṇa’s brother and had taken the side of Rāma, and he had ruled Laṅkā as a righteous king ever since. He received Ghaṭotkaca with full honour, sent back rich gifts, and pledged his submission to Yudhishṭhira. The southern digvijaya was complete. (Chapters 25, 31)

Nakula’s western campaign

Nakula led his forces west. He brought Rohītaka (Rohtak) under his rule, then reached Śākala, where King Śalya, his own mother’s brother, was stationed. Śalya submitted to Nakula.

Going on west, Nakula passed through the Sindhu lands, along the banks of the Sarasvatī river, and through the Pāhlava lands on the western frontier. The western kings and tribal chiefs submitted one by one. Nakula came back with horses of the finest western breeds, especially the Sindhu horses, which were highly prized in Bhārata, together with gold, silver and other western tribute. (Chapters 26, 32)

The digvijaya is complete

When all four campaigns were done, the four brothers returned to Indraprastha with their great tribute. Yudhishṭhira’s treasury overflowed, and the Rājasūya could now go forward. Every corner of the known world had accepted the rule of Dharmarāja: north to the slopes of Meru, east to the Brahmaputra, south to Laṅkā, west to the Sindhu frontier. (Chapters 27–32)

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapters 17–26 and 27–32
• Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapter 17 (the planning)
• Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapters 18–22 and 27–28 (Arjuna’s campaign)
• Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapters 23–24 and 29–30 (Bhīma’s campaign)
• Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapters 25 and 31 (Sahadeva’s campaign)
• Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapters 26 and 32 (Nakula’s campaign)
• Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapters 27–32 (the completion)