Shloka 25
Śalya’s Consecration as Senāpati and Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira (शल्यस्य सेनापत्यभिषेकः)
स भवानस्तु नः शूर: प्रणेता वाहिनीमुखे,“आप हमारे शूरवीर सेनापति होकर सेनाके मुहानेपर खड़े हों। रणभूमिमें आपके जाते ही मन्दबुद्धि पाण्डड और पांचाल अपने मन्त्रियोंसहित उद्योगशून्य हो जायँगे”
sa bhavān astu naḥ śūraḥ praṇetā vāhinīmukhe |
三阇耶说道：“愿你真为我军之勇士——我军之统帅——立于军阵最前。你一踏入战场，那些愚钝的般度族与旁遮罗人，连同他们的诸臣谋士，必将丧失决心，变得萎靡不动。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the perceived ethical and practical weight of leadership in war: a commander’s presence at the vanguard is believed to shape collective morale and decisiveness. It also illustrates how confidence and psychological warfare—asserting the enemy will become ‘inactive’—are treated as strategic tools.
In the Shalya Parva context, Sañjaya reports a statement urging a warrior-leader to take position at the army’s front and lead the advance, with the claim that the Pāṇḍavas and Pāñcālas will lose initiative when he enters the battlefield.