Shloka 101
इसी प्रकार शल्यने भी कमलनयन श्रीकृष्णकी ओर दृष्टिपात किया; परंतु वहाँ विजय श्रीकृष्णकी ही हुई। उन्होंने अपने नेत्ररूपी बाणोंसे शल्यको पराजित कर दिया ।। कर्ण चाप्यजयद् दृष्ट्या कुन्तीपुत्रो धनंजय: । अथाब्रवीत् सूतपुत्र: शल्यमाभाष्य सस्मितम्,इसी तरह कुन्तीनन्दन धनंजयने भी अपनी दृष्टिद्वारा कर्णको परास्त कर दिया। तदनन्तर कर्णने शल्यसे मुसकराते हुए कहा--'शल्य! सच बताओ, यदि कदाचित् आज रणभूमिमें कुन्तीपुत्र अर्जुन मुझे यहाँ मार डालें तो तुम इस संग्राममें क्या करोगे?”
tathā śalyenāpi kamalanayanaṃ śrīkṛṣṇaṃ prati dṛṣṭipātaḥ kṛtaḥ; kintu tatra jayaḥ śrīkṛṣṇasyaiva babhūva. sa netra-śaraireva śalyaṃ parājigāya. karṇaṃ cāpy ajayad dṛṣṭyā kuntīputro dhanañjayaḥ. athābravīt sūtaputraḥ śalyam ābhāṣya sasmitaṃ— “śalya, satyaṃ vada; yadi kadācit adya raṇabhūmau kuntīputro ’rjunaḥ mām iha hanyāt, tvaṃ asmin saṃgrāme kiṃ kariṣyasi?”
Sañjaya said: In the same way, Śalya too cast his glance toward lotus-eyed Śrī Kṛṣṇa; yet victory belonged to Kṛṣṇa alone—he overcame Śalya with the very arrows of his eyes. Likewise, Kuntī’s son Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) defeated Karṇa by his gaze. Then Karṇa, the charioteer’s son, smiling as he addressed Śalya, said: “Śalya, tell me the truth: if today on this battlefield Kuntī’s son Arjuna were to kill me here, what would you do in this war?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how inner resolve and moral-spiritual authority can manifest as victory even without weapons—symbolized by ‘eye-arrows.’ It also foregrounds the ethical demand for truthful counsel in war: Karṇa presses Śalya to speak honestly about his intentions and conduct if Karṇa falls.
Sañjaya describes a tense exchange of looks: Kṛṣṇa’s gaze overpowers Śalya, and Arjuna’s gaze overpowers Karṇa. Immediately after, Karṇa—smiling but probing—questions Śalya about what Śalya will do in the battle if Arjuna kills Karṇa that very day.