Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 12
Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)
एवं सम्पूज्यमानस्तु मद्राणामधिपो बली
evaṁ sampūjyamānas tu madrāṇām adhipo balī | iti satyaṁ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṁśayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Thus being duly honoured, the mighty ruler of the Madras declared to Duryodhana: ‘This is the truth I tell you—there is no doubt. I shall win victory on the battlefield even over all Kuntī’s sons and the Somakas who stand before me. Without doubt I will serve as your commander, and I will form such a battle-array that the enemy will not be able to break through.’”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the rhetoric of certainty in war: a leader publicly asserts ‘truth’ and ‘no doubt’ to strengthen morale and legitimacy. Ethically, it shows how claims of satya can be used to inspire confidence, even when the larger conflict is driven by ambition and rivalry.
Sañjaya reports that the powerful ruler of Madra, after being honoured, speaks to Duryodhana with firm assurance: he will defeat Kuntī’s sons and the Somakas, act as Duryodhana’s commander, and devise an unbreakable battle formation.
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