Shloka 25
Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)
मद्रराज: कृत: शल्यो धार्तराष्ट्रेण माधव । सेनापति्महेष्वास: सर्वसैन्येषु पूजित:,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 |
madra-rājaḥ kṛtaḥ śalyo dhārtarāṣṭreṇa mādhava |
senāpatir mahā-iṣvāsaḥ sarva-sainyeṣu pūjitaḥ |
iti satyaṃ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṃśayaḥ |
Sañjaya said: “O Mādhava, Śalya, the king of Madra, has been appointed by Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son (Duryodhana) as commander of the army—an eminent archer, honored among all the forces. This is the truth I tell you, O Duryodhana; there is no doubt about it.” In the surrounding context, this appointment is framed as a confident pledge of battlefield success and of forming an unbreakable battle-array—revealing the Kaurava camp’s reliance on martial prowess and strategic formations, even as the moral weight of the war continues to deepen.
संजय उवाच