Shloka 50
कर्णेन व्यूहविधानम् — Karṇa’s Battle Formation and the Pāṇḍava Counter-Plan
Adhyāya 31
सो5हमेतादृशो भूत्वा नेहारिबलसूदन: । सूतपुत्रस्य संग्रामे सारथ्यं कर्तुमुत्सहे,ऐसा प्रतिष्ठित एवं शत्रुसेनाका संहार करनेमें समर्थ होकर मैं यहाँ युद्धस्थलमें एक सूतपुत्रके सारथिका कार्य कदापि नहीं कर सकता
so ’ham etādṛśo bhūtvā nehāribalasūdanaḥ | sūtaputrasya saṅgrāme sārathyaṃ kartum utsahe ||
Śalya said: “Though I am such a man—one capable of crushing the enemy’s forces—I cannot bring myself, here on this battlefield, to serve as the charioteer of a mere charioteer’s son in war.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between capability and ego: even a powerful warrior may resist rightful duty when pride and social prejudice (here, contempt for “sūtaputra”) override commitment to the larger cause.
Śalya speaks in protest, asserting his own prowess as a destroyer of enemy forces and declaring that he cannot accept the role of charioteer for Karṇa, whom he derides as a “sūta’s son,” revealing a conflict of honor and hierarchy amid preparations for battle.