Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 43
Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)
केशवे तु तदा याते धर्मपुत्रो युधिष्ठिर: । विसृज्य सर्वान् भ्रातृश्व पज्चालानथ सोमकान्
keśave tu tadā yāte dharmaputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | visṛjya sarvān bhrātṝṃś ca pāñcālān atha somakān | iti satyaṃ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṃśayaḥ |
Sañjaya said: When Keśava had departed at that time, Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira—having dismissed all his brothers, and the Pāñcālas and then the Somakas—spoke these words to Duryodhana in truth and without doubt. He declared that he would win victory on the battlefield even over all the sons of Kuntī and the Somakas who had come forward, and that he would become Duryodhana’s commander, forming a battle-array that the enemy could not overstep. Thus, he affirmed, he was speaking the plain truth, with no uncertainty.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of speech in war: a speaker frames his intent as 'truth' (satyam) and 'without doubt' (na saṃśayaḥ), showing how vows and assertions are used to claim legitimacy and inspire confidence, even amid morally complex conflict.
After Keśava (Kṛṣṇa) leaves, Yudhiṣṭhira dismisses his companions (his brothers, the Pāñcālas, and the Somakas) and then addresses Duryodhana with a firm assurance about victory, command, and the creation of an unbreakable battle-array—reported by Sañjaya.
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