Mahabharata 9.7.25 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 7, Shloka 25

Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)

Devanagari script

मद्रराज: कृत: शल्यो धार्तराष्ट्रेण माधव । सेनापति्महेष्वास: सर्वसैन्येषु पूजित:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

madra-rājaḥ kṛtaḥ śalyo dhārtarāṣṭreṇa mādhava |

senāpatir mahā-iṣvāsaḥ sarva-sainyeṣu pūjitaḥ |

iti satyaṃ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṃśayaḥ |

Translation

Dijo Sañjaya: «Oh Mādhava, Śalya, rey de Madra, ha sido nombrado por el hijo de Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Duryodhana) comandante del ejército: un arquero eminente, honrado entre todas las tropas. Esto es la verdad que te digo, oh Duryodhana; no hay duda alguna».

Word by Word

• मद्रराजः: the king of Madra
• मद्रराजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मद्रराज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृतः: made/appointed
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• शल्यः: Shalya
• शल्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शल्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धार्तराष्ट्रेण: by Dhritarashtra's son (Duryodhana)
• धार्तराष्ट्रेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धार्तराष्ट्र
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• माधव: O Madhava
• Type: Noun
• Root: माधव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सेनापतिः: commander-in-chief
• सेनापतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेनापति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महेष्वासः: great archer
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महेष्वास
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वसैन्येषु: among all the armies
• सर्वसैन्येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वसैन्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• पूजितः: honored
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• ब्रवीमि: I say
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू
• Form: Present (Lat), First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• एषः: this
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुर्योधन: O Duryodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्योधन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• न: not/no
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śalya
• Madra
• Duryodhana (Dhārtarāṣṭra)
• Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds how authority in war is consolidated through appointment, reputation, and public honor; yet the insistence on “truth” (satya) also highlights the ethical tension of claiming certainty and victory amid a conflict driven by adharma and ambition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Śalya, king of Madra and a renowned archer, has been made the Kaurava commander by Duryodhana, and he emphasizes this as a definite, doubtless fact—setting the stage for the Kaurava battle leadership in the Shalya Parva.