Shloka 49
कर्णेन व्यूहविधानम् — Karṇa’s Battle Formation and the Pāṇḍava Counter-Plan
Adhyāya 31
अहं मूर्धाभिषिक्तो हि राजर्षिकुलजो नृप:ः । महारथ: समाख्यात: सेव्य: स्तुत्यश्न वन्दिनाम्
ahaṁ mūrdhābhiṣikto hi rājarṣikulajo nṛpaḥ | mahārathaḥ samākhyātaḥ sevyaḥ stutyas ca vandinām ||
Sinabi ni Śalya: “Ako’y isang haring lubos na naitalaga sa pamamagitan ng wastong pag-aabhiseka, isinilang sa angkan ng mga rājarṣi. Ako’y kinikilalang isang mahāratha na bantog, karapat-dapat paglingkuran ng mga Sūta at karapat-dapat purihin ng mga tagapagpuri.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how claims to honor and authority are grounded in consecration, lineage, and recognized merit; it also cautions that self-asserted status can become a tool of pride and conflict when ethical restraint is strained in wartime.
Śalya is speaking in the Karṇa Parva and asserts his identity as a crowned king of noble rājarṣi lineage and a famed mahāratha, insisting he deserves service and praise—an assertion of rank and reputation amid the charged interactions of the battlefield leadership.