Mahabharata 9.7.34 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 7, Shloka 34
Śalya Installed as Commander; Coalition Agreement and Battle Arrays (शल्यसेनापत्यारोहणं व्यूहवर्णनं च)
सदेवलोके कृत्स्ने5स्मिन् नान्यस्त्वत्त: पुमान् भवेत् । मद्रराजं रणे क्रुद्धं यो हन्यात् कुरुनन्दन
sadevaloke kṛtsne ’smin nānyas tvattaḥ pumān bhavet | madrarājaṃ raṇe kruddhaṃ yo hanyāt kurunandana iti satyaṃ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṃśayaḥ ||
สัญชัยกล่าวว่า “โอความปีติแห่งวงศ์กุรุ! ในโลกทั้งสิ้นนี้ แม้รวมทั้งเหล่าเทพ ก็ไม่มีบุรุษอื่นใดนอกจากท่าน ที่จะสังหารศัลยะ กษัตริย์แห่งมทร เมื่อเขากริ้วกราดในสนามรบได้ ทุรโยธนะ ข้ากล่าวความจริงแก่ท่าน—ปราศจากข้อสงสัย”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethic of realistic appraisal in war: true counsel identifies singular capability and limits. It also highlights how praise and certainty (“no doubt”) can function as strategic encouragement, shaping decisions amid dharma-conflicted violence.
Sañjaya reports a confident assertion addressed to Duryodhana: only a particular Kuru hero (addressed as “Kurunandana”) is capable of killing Śalya, the king of Madra, when he fights in wrath. The statement serves to frame Śalya as a formidable warrior and to single out the one opponent deemed able to overcome him.
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