Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 34
Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)
सदेवलोके कृत्स्ने5स्मिन् नान्यस्त्वत्त: पुमान् भवेत् । मद्रराजं रणे क्रुद्धं यो हन्यात् कुरुनन्दन
sadevaloke kṛtsne ’smin nānyas tvattaḥ pumān bhavet | madrarājaṃ raṇe kruddhaṃ yo hanyāt kurunandana iti satyaṃ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṃśayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “In this entire world together with the gods, there is no man other than you who could slay the king of Madra, Śalya, when he is enraged in battle, O joy of the Kurus. This is the truth I declare to you, Duryodhana—of this there is no doubt.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethic of realistic appraisal in war: true counsel identifies singular capability and limits. It also highlights how praise and certainty (“no doubt”) can function as strategic encouragement, shaping decisions amid dharma-conflicted violence.
Sañjaya reports a confident assertion addressed to Duryodhana: only a particular Kuru hero (addressed as “Kurunandana”) is capable of killing Śalya, the king of Madra, when he fights in wrath. The statement serves to frame Śalya as a formidable warrior and to single out the one opponent deemed able to overcome him.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.