Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 23
Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)
प्रहर्ष प्राप्प सेना तु तावकी भरतर्षभ । तां रात्रिमुषिता सुप्ता हर्षचित्ता च साभवत्
sañjaya uvāca | praharṣaṁ prāpya senā tu tāvakī bharatarṣabha | tāṁ rātrim uṣitā suptā harṣacittā ca sābhavat | iti satyaṁ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṁśayaḥ |
Sañjaya said: O bull among the Bharatas, your army, having attained great exhilaration, remained there for that night and slept; its mind was filled with confidence and joy.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how confidence and persuasive assurances can raise an army’s morale, yet it also implicitly warns that exhilaration and certainty in war are unstable foundations when detached from clear-sighted judgment and dharmic restraint.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that the Kaurava forces, encouraged by confident declarations made to Duryodhana, became elated and spent the night on the battlefield, sleeping there with hearts full of enthusiasm.
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