Shloka 18
Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)
यादृशं मे बल॑ बाह्दो: सम्पदस्त्रेषु या च मे । अद्य मे विक्रमं दृष्टवा पाण्डवानां महारथा:,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”
yādṛśaṃ me balaṃ bāhvoḥ sampad astreṣu yā ca me | adya me vikramaṃ dṛṣṭvā pāṇḍavānāṃ mahārathāḥ iti satyaṃ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṃśayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Considering the strength in my arms and the mastery I possess in weapons, today—after witnessing my prowess—the great chariot-warriors among the Pāṇḍavas will know it. Duryodhana, I speak this to you as truth: there is no doubt.” In context, the speech conveys a warrior’s self-assurance and a pledge of military effectiveness, highlighting how confidence and ambition in war can harden into certainty, even as the larger moral outcome remains governed by dharma and the consequences of one’s chosen cause.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds martial confidence—strength, skill in weapons, and proclaimed certainty. Ethically, it illustrates how personal prowess and conviction can be asserted as “truth” in war, yet the epic repeatedly contrasts such confidence with the deeper governance of outcomes by dharma and the justice of one’s cause.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s declaration to Duryodhana: based on his strength and weapon-skill, he claims that after seeing his valor the Pāṇḍava champions will recognize it, and he assures Duryodhana that this is certainly true.