Shloka 106

Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)

Devanagari script

निखिलाः पृथिवीं सर्वा प्रशासन्तु हतद्विष: । “राजन! आप चिरंजीवी हों। सामने आये हुए शत्रुओंका संहार कर डालें। आपके बाहुबलको पाकर धुृतराष्ट्रके सभी महाबली पुत्र शत्रुओंका नाश करके सारी पृथ्वीका शासन करें

Transliteration

nikhilāḥ pṛthivīṃ sarvā praśāsantu hatadviṣaḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “May all the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, their enmities destroyed, rule the entire earth. O King, may you live long; having met the enemy face to face, let them be slain. Supported by your mighty arms, may Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s powerful sons destroy their foes and govern the whole world.”

Word by Word

• निखिलाः: all, entire
• निखिलाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निखिल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पृथिवीम्: the earth
• पृथिवीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• सर्वाम्: whole, entire
• सर्वाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रशासन्तु: let them rule / may they govern
• Type: Verb
• Root: शास्
• Form: Imperative (Lot), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• हतद्विषः: having slain enemies / enemy-slayers
• हतद्विषः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत-द्विष्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons (Kauravas)
• the enemy/foes
• the earth (Pṛthivī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ideal of kingship as complete sovereignty, but framed through the lens of war: rule is imagined as the outcome of annihilating opposition. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s tension between political ambition and the destructive cost of seeking dominion through violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a benedictive, victory-oriented sentiment addressed to the king: a wish that Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons, empowered by the king’s support and martial strength, will kill the opposing warriors and then govern the whole earth.