Shloka 103

Devanagari script

शल्य उवाच यदि कर्ण रणे हन्यादद्य त्वां श्वेतवाहन: । उभावेकर थेनाहं हन्यां माधवपाण्डवौ,शल्यने कहा--कर्ण! यदि श्वेतवाहन अर्जुन आज युद्धमें तुझे मार डालें तो मैं एकमात्र रथके द्वारा श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुन दोनोंका वध कर डालूँगा

Transliteration

śalya uvāca yadi karṇa raṇe hanyād adya tvāṁ śvetavāhanaḥ | ubhāv ekarathe nāhaṁ hanyāṁ mādhava-pāṇḍavau ||

Translation

Śalya said: “Karna, if today in battle Śvetavāhana (Arjuna) were to slay you, then I—standing alone upon a single chariot—would strike down both Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) and the Pāṇḍava (Arjuna).” In the heat of war, Śalya frames vengeance and loyalty as immediate duty, revealing how martial pride and partisan allegiance can eclipse sober judgment and ethical restraint.

Word by Word

शल्यःShalya

उवाचsaid

यदिif

कर्णO Karna

रणेin battle

हन्यात्should kill

अद्यtoday

त्वाम्you

श्वेतवाहनःthe white-horsed one (Arjuna)

उभौboth

एकरथेनwith a single chariot

अहम्I

हन्याम्would kill

माधवMadhava (Krishna)

पाण्डवौthe two Pandavas (Krishna and Arjuna / the pair on the chariot)

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śalya

Karna

Arjuna (Śvetavāhana)

Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava)

chariot

battlefield

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in wartime, vows of retaliation and displays of loyalty can become ethically hazardous: confidence and anger may override discernment, and speech itself can intensify adharma by normalizing extreme violence against even divinely guided opponents.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya addresses Karṇa and declares that if Arjuna (called Śvetavāhana) kills Karṇa that day, Śalya will retaliate by killing both Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava) and Arjuna together, claiming he could do so even with only a single chariot.