Shloka 51
कर्णेन व्यूहविधानम् — Karṇa’s Battle Formation and the Pāṇḍava Counter-Plan
Adhyāya 31
अवमानमहं प्राप्प न योत्स्यामि कथउठ्चन । आपूृच्छे त्वाद्य गान्धारे गमिष्यामि गृहाय वै,गान्धारीनन्दन! आज इस अपमानको पाकर अब मैं किसी प्रकार युद्ध नहीं करूँगा। अतः तुमसे आज्ञा चाहता हूँ। आज ही अपने घरको लौट जाऊँगा
avamānam ahaṁ prāpya na yotsyāmi kathaṁcana | āpṛcche tvādya gāndhāre gamiṣyāmi gṛhāya vai ||
Śalya said: “Having received this insult, I will not fight in any way. I take leave of you today, O son of Gāndhārī; indeed, I shall depart at once for my home.” The statement frames withdrawal from battle as a response to dishonor, highlighting how wounded pride and perceived disrespect can disrupt martial duty and alliances in the midst of war.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how avamāna (humiliation) can destabilize dharma in practice: even a warrior bound by alliance and kṣatriya-duty may threaten withdrawal when honor is violated, revealing the ethical tension between personal dignity and obligations in war.
Śalya declares to the ‘son of Gāndhārī’ (Duryodhana) that, having been insulted, he will not fight and asks leave to depart for home—an ultimatum that signals a rupture in cooperation at a critical moment in the Karṇa Parva battle context.