Shloka 63
कर्णेन व्यूहविधानम् — Karṇa’s Battle Formation and the Pāṇḍava Counter-Plan
Adhyāya 31
ऋते हि त्वां महाभाग वासुदेवसमं युधि । “आपके सारथि होनेपर राधापुत्र कर्ण मेरे शत्रुओंको जीत लेगा। कर्णके रथकी बागडोर पकड़नेवाला आपके सिवा दूसरा कोई नहीं है। महाभाग! आप युद्धमें वसुदेवनन्दन श्रीकृष्णके समान हैं,शल्य उवाच यन्मां ब्रवीषि गान्धारे मध्ये सैन्यस्थ कौरव । विशिष्ट देवकीपुत्रात् प्रीतिमानस्म्यहं त्वयि शल्यने कहा--कौरव! गान्धारीपुत्र! तुम सारी सेनाके बीचमें जो मुझे देवकीनन्दन श्रीकृष्णसे भी बढ़कर बता रहे हो, इससे मैं तुमपर बहुत प्रसन्न हूँ
sañjaya uvāca |
ṛte hi tvāṃ mahābhāga vāsudevasamaṃ yudhi |
śalya uvāca |
yan māṃ bravīṣi gāndhāre madhye sainyastha kaurava |
viśiṣṭaṃ devakīputrāt prītimān asmy ahaṃ tvayi ||
Sanjaya said: “O greatly fortunate one, apart from you—who in battle are equal to Vāsudeva—there is no other who can truly hold the reins of Karṇa’s chariot.” Śalya replied: “O son of Gāndhārī, O Kaurava standing amid the assembled army—since you speak of me as superior even to Devakī’s son (Kṛṣṇa), I am pleased with you.” In context, the passage highlights how praise and comparison to Kṛṣṇa are used to secure Śalya’s cooperation as Karṇa’s charioteer, revealing the ethical tension between genuine merit and strategic flattery in wartime counsel.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how wartime alliances can be shaped by praise and status-comparisons: Duryodhana’s exaltation of Śalya (even above Kṛṣṇa) wins Śalya’s pleasure, showing the moral ambiguity of persuasion through flattery rather than truth.
Sañjaya reports the situation around Karṇa’s chariot: only a supremely capable charioteer can ‘hold the reins’ in battle. Śalya then responds to Duryodhana’s public praise, expressing satisfaction at being lauded as superior even to Kṛṣṇa.