Shloka 31
Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)
'भारत! नरेश्वर! मैं बहुत सोचनेपर भी युद्धपरायण शल्यके अनुरूप दूसरे किसी योद्धाको नहीं पा रहा हूँ |। शिखण्डयर्जुनभीमानां सात्वतस्य च भारत | धृष्टद्युम्नस्यथ च तथा बलेनाभ्यधिको रणे,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” “'भरतनन्दन! शिखण्डी, अर्जुन, भीम, सात्यकि और धृष्टद्युम्नसे भी वे रणभूमिमें अधिक बलशाली हैं
bhārata! nareśvara! ahaṃ bahu cintayann api yuddha-parāyaṇa-śalyasya anurūpaṃ dvitīyaṃ kañcid yoddhāraṃ na paśyāmi | śikhaṇḍy-arjuna-bhīmānāṃ sātvatasya ca bhārata | dhṛṣṭadyumnasya ca tathā balenābhyadhiko raṇe, iti satyaṃ bravīmi eṣa duryodhana na saṃśayaḥ |
Sañjaya said: “O Bhārata, O king! Even after much reflection, I find no other warrior comparable to Śalya in his single-minded devotion to battle. O Bhārata, in strength on the battlefield he surpasses Śikhaṇḍin, Arjuna, Bhīma, Sātyaki, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna. This I declare as truth to you, O Duryodhana—there is no doubt.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how assessments of martial strength and reputation shape wartime decisions; it also subtly warns that confidence built on comparisons of power can feed strategic and moral blindness, especially in a conflict already marked by adharma.
Sañjaya reports to the Kuru king (addressed as Bhārata/nareśvara) that Śalya is unmatched among the Kauravas in battle-mindedness and, in his view, exceeds major Pāṇḍava champions—Śikhaṇḍin, Arjuna, Bhīma, Sātyaki, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna—affirming this to Duryodhana without doubt.