Shloka 22
Kṛṣṇasya asāṃnidhya-kāraṇaṃ — Śālva–Soubha-vṛttāntaḥ
Why Kṛṣṇa was absent; the Śālva and Saubha account
न कुप्यवेतनी वक्रिन्न चातिक्रान्तवेतनी । नानुग्रहभृतः कश्रिन्न चादृष्टपराक्रम:,कोई भी सैनिक ऐसा नहीं था जिसे सोने-चाँदीके सिवा ताँबा आदि वेतनके रूपमें दिया जाता हो अथवा जिसे समयपर वेतन न प्राप्त हुआ हो। किसी भी सैनिकको दयावश सेनामें भर्ती नहीं किया गया था तथा कोई भी ऐसा न था जिसका पराक्रम बहुत दिनोंसे देखा न गया हो
na kupyavetani vakrin na cātikrāntavetani | nānugrahabhṛtaḥ kaścin na cādṛṣṭaparākramaḥ ||
Vāyu-deva said: “There was not a single soldier who was paid in a paltry or debased manner, nor anyone whose wages were overdue. No one had been enlisted merely out of pity or favoritism, and none was a man whose valor had not already been proven.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s force should be sustained by justice: fair and timely wages, and recruitment based on proven merit rather than favoritism or pity. Such governance upholds dharma and strengthens social trust.
Vāyu-deva describes the composition and discipline of an army, emphasizing that the troops were properly compensated, not kept in service through patronage, and consisted of warriors whose prowess had already been demonstrated.