Shloka 55
कर्णेन व्यूहविधानम् — Karṇa’s Battle Formation and the Pāṇḍava Counter-Plan
Adhyāya 31
न कर्णो3 भ्यधिक सर्त्वत्तो न शड़्के त्वां च पार्थिव । न हि मद्रेश्वरो राजा कुर्याद् यदनृतं भवेत्,'भूपाल! न तो कर्ण आपसे श्रेष्ठ है और न आपके प्रति मैं संदेह ही करता हूँ। मद्रदेशके स्वामी राजा शल्य कोई ऐसा कार्य नहीं कर सकते, जो उनकी सत्य प्रतिज्ञाके विपरीत हो
na karṇo 'bhyadhikaḥ sattvato na śaṅke tvāṃ ca pārthiva | na hi madreśvaro rājā kuryād yad anṛtaṃ bhavet ||
Sañjaya said: “I do not think Karṇa surpasses him in true prowess; nor do I doubt you, O king. For King Śalya, lord of Madra, would never do anything that would amount to falsehood or violate his pledge of truth.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds satya (truthfulness) as a defining royal virtue: a king renowned for truth will not act in a way that becomes anṛta (falsehood), even amid the pressures of war and rivalry.
Sañjaya reassures the addressed king by evaluating the warriors’ mettle and by affirming Śalya’s reliability: he neither grants Karṇa unquestioned superiority nor suspects the king, and he insists that Śalya, as lord of Madra, will not act contrary to truth or his pledged word.