The Assemblage of Kings
Ancient halls of proud Hastina mirrored bright on Ganga's wave!Thither came the son of Pandu, young Nakula true and brave,
Came to ask Hastina's monarch, chief of Kuru's royal race,To partake Yudhishthir's banquet and his sacrifice to grace.
Dhrita-rashtra came in gladness unto Indra-prastha's town,Marked its new-built tower and turret on the azure Jumna frown,
With him came preceptor Kripa, and the ancient Bhishma came,Elders of the race of Kuru, chiefs and Brahmans known to fame.
Monarchs came from distant regions to partake the holy rite,Warlike chiefs from court and castle in their arms accoutred bright,
Kshatras came with ample tribute for the holy sacrifice,Precious gems and costly jewels, gold and gifts of untold price.
Proud Duryodhan and his brothers came in fair and friendly guise,With the ancient Kuru monarch and Vidura, good and wise,
With his son came brave Suvala from Gandhara's distant land,Car-borne Salya, peerless Karna, came with bow and spear and brand.
Came the priest and proud preceptor Drona skilled in arms and lore,Jayadratha famed for valour came from Sindhu's sounding shore,
Drupad came with gallant princes from Panchala's land of fame,Salwa lord of outer nations to the mighty gathering came.
Bhagadatta came in chariot from the land of nations brave,Prag-jyotisha, where the red sun wakes on Brahma-putra's wave,
With him came untutored mlechchas who beside the ocean dwell,Uncouth chiefs of dusky nations from the lands where mountains swell,
Came Virata, Matsya's monarch, and his warlike sons and bold,Sisupala, king of Chedi, with his son bedecked in gold.
Came the warlike chiefs of Vrishni from the shores of Western Sea,And the lords of Madhya-desa, ever warlike ever free!
Words in this poem
- preceptor n.
- One who gives commands, or makes rules; specifically, the master or principal of a school; a teacher; an instructor. [L. praeceptor, fr. praecipere to teach: cf. F. précepteur. See Precept.]
- untold a.
- Not told; not related; not revealed; as, untold secrets.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Assemblage of Kings is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Mahabharata (condensed), Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, the Romesh Chunder Dutt translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Vyasa, The Assemblage of Kings, in The Mahabharata (condensed) (1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mahabharata/the-assemblage-of-kings.html, id L15771.
Form and metre
The Assemblage of Kings is 28 lines in 14 stanzas of 2 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.0 syllables.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic octameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA waveA · braveA
- 2 AA raceA · graceA
- 3 AA townA · frownA
- 4 AA cameA · fameA
- 5 AA riteA · brightA
- 6 AA sacrificeA · priceA
- 7 AA guiseA · wiseA
- 8 AA landA · brandA
- 9 AA loreA · shoreA
- 10 AA fameA · cameA
- 11 AA braveA · waveA
- 12 AA dwellA · swellA
- 13 AA boldA · goldA
- 14 AA seaA · freeA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient halls of proud Hastina mirrored bright on Ganga's wave! | 15 | /˘······/˘····· |
| Thither came the son of Pandu, young Nakula true and brave, | 15 | /˘············· |
| Came to ask Hastina's monarch, chief of Kuru's royal race, | 15 | ······/·····/˘· |
| To partake Yudhishthir's banquet and his sacrifice to grace. | 15 | ·˘/···/˘··/˘··· |
| Dhrita-rashtra came in gladness unto Indra-prastha's town, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Marked its new-built tower and turret on the azure Jumna frown, | 15 | ····/·/˘··/˘··· |
| With him came preceptor Kripa, and the ancient Bhishma came, | 15 | ···˘/˘····/˘··· |
| Elders of the race of Kuru, chiefs and Brahmans known to fame. | 15 | /˘············· |
| Monarchs came from distant regions to partake the holy rite, | 15 | /···/˘/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Warlike chiefs from court and castle in their arms accoutred bright, | 15 | /·····/˘······· |
| Kshatras came with ample tribute for the holy sacrifice, | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Precious gems and costly jewels, gold and gifts of untold price. | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘····˘/· |
| Proud Duryodhan and his brothers came in fair and friendly guise, | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| With the ancient Kuru monarch and Vidura, good and wise, | 15 | ··/˘··/········ |
| With his son came brave Suvala from Gandhara's distant land, | 15 | ············/˘· |
| Car-borne Salya, peerless Karna, came with bow and spear and brand. | 15 | ····/˘········· |
| Came the priest and proud preceptor Drona skilled in arms and lore, | 15 | ·····˘/˘······· |
| Jayadratha famed for valour came from Sindhu's sounding shore, | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| Drupad came with gallant princes from Panchala's land of fame, | 15 | ····/˘/˘······· |
| Salwa lord of outer nations to the mighty gathering came. | 15 | ····//˘··/˘/˘˘· |
| Bhagadatta came in chariot from the land of nations brave, | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| Prag-jyotisha, where the red sun wakes on Brahma-putra's wave, | 15 | ··········/˘··· |
| With him came untutored mlechchas who beside the ocean dwell, | 15 | ·········˘/·/˘· |
| Uncouth chiefs of dusky nations from the lands where mountains swell, | 15 | //··/˘/˘····/˘· |
| Came Virata, Matsya's monarch, and his warlike sons and bold, | 15 | ······/···/···· |
| Sisupala, king of Chedi, with his son bedecked in gold. | 15 | ···········˘/·· |
| Came the warlike chiefs of Vrishni from the shores of Western Sea, | 15 | ··/·········/˘· |
| And the lords of Madhya-desa, ever warlike ever free! | 15 | ········/˘/·/˘· |
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