Shloka 17
Śalya’s Consecration as Senāpati and Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira (शल्यस्य सेनापत्यभिषेकः)
यं पुरस्कृत्य सहिता युधि जेष्याम पाण्डवान्
yaṁ puraskṛtya sahitā yudhi jeṣyāma pāṇḍavān— “brahman! tvaṁ asmākaṁ guruputro ’si, asmin kāle ca tvam eva asmākaṁ sarvato mahattamaḥ āśrayaḥ. ataḥ ahaṁ tava ājñayā senāpatikā-nirvācanaṁ kartum icchāmi. brūhi— adhunā kaḥ mama senāpatiḥ syāt, yaṁ puraskṛtya vayaṁ sarve sametya yuddhe pāṇḍaveṣu jayaṁ prāpnuyāma?”
Sañjaya said: “Keeping whom at our head, united together, shall we defeat the Pandavas in battle? O Brahmin—since you are the son of our preceptor and, at this moment, our greatest support—I wish, with your sanction, to appoint the commander of the army. Tell me now: who should be my general, placing whom in front we may all, acting as one, win victory over the Pandavas in war?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, effective action depends on legitimate authority and unified leadership: the speaker seeks consent (ājñā) and a single focal leader (puraskṛtya) so the army acts cohesively rather than as competing factions.
A leader on the Kaurava side consults a respected figure addressed as ‘Brahmin’ and ‘son of the preceptor,’ asking whom to appoint as commander-in-chief so that, with everyone united under that leader, they may defeat the Pandavas.