Shloka 15
Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)
अद्य पाण्डुसुता: सर्वे वासुदेव: ससात्यकि: । पज्चालाश्षेदयश्नैव द्रौपदेयाश्ष सर्वश:,इति सत्य ब्रवीम्येष दुर्योधन न संशय: । “मैं रणभूमिमें कुन्तीके सभी पुत्रों और सामने आये हुए सोमकोंपर भी विजय प्राप्त कर लूँगा। इसमें भी संदेह नहीं कि मैं तुम्हारा सेनापति होऊँगा और ऐसे व्यूहका निर्माण करूँगा, जिसे शत्रु लाँघ नहीं सकेंगे। दुर्योधन! यह मैं तुमसे सच्ची बात कहता हूँ। इसमें कोई संशय नहीं है”
sañjaya uvāca |
adya pāṇḍusutāḥ sarve vāsudevaḥ sasātyakiḥ |
pañcālāḥ śeḍayāś caiva draupadeyāś ca sarvaśaḥ |
iti satyaṃ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṃśayaḥ |
Sañjaya said: “Today I shall overcome all the sons of Pāṇḍu—Vāsudeva along with Sātyaki, the Pāñcālas and the Śeḍayas as well, and all the sons of Draupadī without exception. This is the truth I declare to you, Duryodhana; there is no doubt.” In ethical tone, the utterance is a confident, even boastful, martial vow: it frames victory as a matter of personal resolve and strategic dominance, contrasting with the Mahābhārata’s broader warning that pride and certainty in violence often precede downfall.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the psychology of war: certainty and bravado are asserted as truth, yet the epic repeatedly shows that moral blindness and overconfidence can distort judgment. It invites reflection on how claims of inevitable victory can ignore dharma, consequences, and the limits of human control.
Sañjaya reports a declaration made to Duryodhana: the speaker vows to defeat the Pāṇḍavas and their principal allies—Kṛṣṇa (Vāsudeva), Sātyaki, the Pāñcālas, the Śeḍayas, and Draupadī’s sons—insisting it is certain and beyond doubt.