Shloka 6
Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत शल्यपर्वमें शल्य और दुर्योधनका संवादविषयक छठा अध्याय पूरा हुआ,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” एवमुक्तस्ततो राजा मद्राधिपतिमञ्जसा भरतश्रेष्ठ! प्रजानाथ! उनके ऐसा कहनेपर क्लेशसे दबे हुए राजा दुर्योधनने शास्त्रीय विधिके अनुसार सेनाके मध्यभागमें मद्रराज शल्यका सेनापतिके पदपर अभिषेक कर दिया
iti satyaṁ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṁśayaḥ | “ahaṁ raṇabhūmau kuntī-putrān sarvān samāgatāṁś ca somakān api vijayiṣyāmi | atra api na saṁśayaḥ | tava senāpatir bhaviṣyāmi ca tādṛśaṁ vyūhaṁ racayiṣyāmi yaṁ śatravo na laṅghayiṣyanti | duryodhana etat te satyaṁ bravīmi | na saṁśayaḥ” || evam uktas tato rājā madrādhipatim añjasā | bharataśreṣṭha prajānātha | tasyaivam uktvā kleśena pīḍito rājā duryodhanaḥ śāstrīya-vidhinā senā-madhye madra-rājaṁ śalyaṁ senāpati-pade ’bhiṣicya nyayojayat ||
“I speak the truth to you, Duryodhana—there is no doubt. On the battlefield I shall conquer all the sons of Kuntī, and even the Somakas who come forward. Of this too there is no doubt. I shall become your commander-in-chief, and I shall form such a battle-array that the enemy will not be able to break through. Duryodhana, I tell you this as truth—without uncertainty.” When the king of Madra, Śalya, had spoken thus, Duryodhana—oppressed by distress yet acting according to the prescribed martial rites—formally installed Śalya in the midst of the army as commander-in-chief.
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid grief and impending defeat, royal action is framed through ‘śāstrīya-vidhi’—the epic highlights how power and violence are repeatedly legitimized by ritual and formal procedure, while confident vows (‘na saṁśayaḥ’) can function as morale and political necessity rather than reliable truth.
Śalya declares with certainty that he will defeat the Pāṇḍavas and the Somakas and promises to serve as Duryodhana’s commander, creating an unbreakable battle formation. Hearing this, Duryodhana, though distressed, formally installs Śalya as senāpati in the middle of the army.