Mahabharata 9.7.36 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 7, Shloka 36
Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)
अजेयश्चाप्यसौ वीरो धार्तराष्ट्रण सत्कृत: । तवैव हि जयो नून॑ हते मद्रेश्वरे युधि
sañjaya uvāca |
ajeyaś cāpy asau vīro dhārtarāṣṭreṇa satkṛtaḥ |
tavaiva hi jayo nūnaṁ hate madreśvare yudhi |
iti satyaṁ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṁśayaḥ ||
Sanjaya sprach: „Jener Held (Śalya) ist wahrlich unbezwingbar, und der Sohn Dhṛtarāṣṭras hat ihn gebührend geehrt. Wahrlich, dein Sieg ist gewiss, sobald der Herr von Madra im Kampf erschlagen ist. So spreche ich die Wahrheit zu dir, Duryodhana – ohne Zweifel.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how claims of certainty in war—grounded in honoring powerful allies and predicting an enemy’s fall—can shape morale and decision-making; it also contrasts the speaker’s insistence on “truth” (satya) with the inherently uncertain and ethically fraught nature of battlefield outcomes.
Sañjaya reports to Duryodhana a confident assertion about Śalya: that he is invincible and has been honored by Duryodhana, and that Duryodhana’s victory will be assured once the Madra king (Śalya) is slain in battle—presented as a doubtless, truth-spoken statement.
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