Sahadeva Conquers the Southern Kingdoms – Stories from Sabha Parva

Sahadeva, the youngest of the Pandava brothers, went southward as his older brothers took off in the other directions to conquer the earth for Yudhsitira’s Rajasuya. 

Sahadeva’s first stop was the land of Shurasenas. From there, he went to conquer Matsya and moved on to defeat Dantavakra. After accepting tribute, he reinstalled the king on the throne and proceeded to fight Sukumara, King Sumitra, and then the Patachcharas. Sahadeva conquered the Nishadas and the region of the Goshringa Mountain before defeating King Shrenimana and another kingdom. 

From there, he went to Kuntibhoja where he was welcomed with love. He proceeded to the banks of River Charmanvati and fought King Jambaka’s son. Sahadeva defeated the Bhoja and went southward. Extracting tribute at every stop, Sahadeva went towards River Narmada and defeated Vinda and Anuvinda of Avanti. He moved on to Mahishmati and fought King Nila. This was a terrifying battle between both sides. The horses, chariots, and soldiers from Sahadeva’s army were blazing with fire. At one point, the youngest Pandava brother didn’t know what to do. 

That was because the god of fire (Agni Deva) lived in Mahashmati and protected the kingdom. A long time ago, Agni Deva saw King Nila’s daughter during a yagna ceremony and fell in love with her. He disguised himself as a Brahmin to meet the girl. King Nila saw him with his daughter and was furious. Agni Deva revealed his true form, and Nila bowed to him. He willingly got his daughter married to the god of fire. Agni Deva blessed Nila that his kingdom would be safe from invasions and his army wouldn’t ever face fear in a battle. Additionally, the women in the kingdom no longer had to live with restrictions and had more freedom. 

Sahadeva decided to appease Agni Deva. He purified himself with water and requested Agni Deva to not cause an obstruction to Yudhistira’s sacrifice. He sat on the ground with kusa grass right at the front to protect his army. The fire didn’t cross him to harm his troops. Agni Deva said that he was bound by his word to protect Mahismati as long as there was an heir to the throne. However, he also wouldn’t stop Sahadeva from achieving his goal. 

Seeing Agni Deva retreat from Sahadeva impressed King Nila. He stopped the battle and welcomed the Pandava to his kingdom. Nila offered the tribute and promised to attend the Rajasuya. 

Sahadeva went to defeat the Traipuras (Cedis) with King Potana and Ahriti, the king of Saurashtra. Sahadeva sent a missive to King Rukmin Bhishmaka of Bhojakata who responded in kind and offered the tribute. Then, he went to Shurparaka and Upakrita and defeated many clans ruling these lands. Next, Sahadeva moved towards Dandaka to conquer the mleccha kings, the man-eating nishadas, the Karnapravaranas, and the Kalamukhas (a cross between men and rakshasas) who lived along the Kolla Mountains.

His next stops were Murachipattana, the island known as Tamra, Mount Ramaka, and King Timingila. He sent messengers to rulers in the forests, and cities of Samjayanti, Picchanda, and Karahataka. Sahadeva used the same technique to subjugate the Pandyas, the Dravidas, the Chodras, the Keralas, the Andhras, the Talavanas, the Kalingas, the Ushtrakarnikas, the Antakhis, the Romas, and the city of the Greeks. 

Next, we went to Bharukaccha and finally reached the end of the land. From here, Sahadeva sent Ghatotkacha to Vibhishana of Lanka who was happy to provide a massive tribute to Yudhistira. 

The youngest Pandava brother returned to Indraprastha with overwhelming amounts of wealth and gifts. Read about Arjuna, Bhima, and Nakula’s conquests.