Śalya

Śalya was the king of Madra (Mādradeśa) and the maternal uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva, the twin sons of Pāṇḍu born of Mādrī. Mādrī was Śalya’s sister. He fought on the Kaurava side in the Kurukshetra war, although he was close to the Pāṇḍavas. Duryodhana won his word through a plan of lavish hospitality. Śalya drove the chariot of Karṇa in the last days of the war. On the eighteenth day he became the last commander-in-chief (senāpati) of the Kauravas, and Yudhishṭhira killed him.

Identity and lineage

Śalya was king of Madra, a strong kingdom of the north, in the region of today’s Punjab (northwestern India and Pakistan). He was the brother of Mādrī, the second wife of King Pāṇḍu. This made him the māmā (mother’s brother) of Nakula and Sahadeva, and there was real affection between them.

Śalya was among the greatest warriors of his age. He had great bodily strength, fine skill in fighting from a chariot, and a large, well-trained Madra army. The Mahābhārata counts him as a mahāratha (a chariot-warrior able to fight ten thousand ordinary warriors at once). He was thought equal to Indra in battle.

His son was Rukmāratha, whom Abhimanyu killed on the thirteenth day of the war.

The march to help the Pāṇḍavas

News came to Madra that the Pāṇḍavas were gathering forces for war against the Kauravas. Śalya at once gathered his army and marched toward Upaplavya in the kingdom of Virāṭa to join his nephews. His coming would have been a great gain for the Pāṇḍava side, since he was a king of high rank and personal courage with a large army.

Duryodhana’s plan and the vara

Duryodhana’s spies watched every troop movement. When he learned that Śalya was marching, he made a plan. He sent men ahead along Śalya’s road. They posed as servants of the Pāṇḍavas, and at every stage they set up fine resting camps with rich food, beautiful tents, entertainment and many attendants. Śalya and his army were delighted by this hospitality at every step.

Śalya came to one of these camps and took it to be Yudhishṭhira’s arrangement. Before he learned who the host was, he spoke these words: “Whoever has arranged this splendid hospitality, ask whatever vara (boon) you wish of me.”

Then it was shown that the host was Duryodhana. Śalya was caught. A word of vara once spoken could not be taken back under dharma. Duryodhana asked that Śalya serve as the charioteer of Karṇa during the war. Śalya heard this with horror. The Pāṇḍava side had Kṛshṇa himself to drive Arjuna’s chariot.

Śalya, bound by his word, fought for the Kauravas.

The Mahābhārata tells this in the Udyoga Parva, Chapter 7.

The counter-vara to Yudhishṭhira

Śalya was troubled and angry at himself. He went to Upaplavya to meet Yudhishṭhira and confess what had happened. He told the whole story, said he was sorry to have been caught in Duryodhana’s trap, and offered whatever help he could give.

Yudhishṭhira answered with wisdom and kindness. He was not angry. He gave a practical way out. Śalya must serve as Karṇa’s charioteer, so he should use that place to help the Pāṇḍavas. In battle, when Karṇa’s confidence should be highest, Śalya should speak badly of Karṇa’s skill. He should compare Karṇa with Arjuna and say that Karṇa falls short. He should weaken the warrior’s resolve from inside his own chariot.

Śalya agreed. This counter-vara was his way of keeping faith with his nephews Nakula and Sahadeva while still bound to serve Karṇa.

The Mahābhārata tells this in the Udyoga Parva, Chapter 8.

Śalya and the Indravijaya account

After his agreement with Yudhishṭhira, Śalya told the Indravijaya account. It covers Triśiras, Vṛtrāsura and Nahusha. The Mahābhārata gives this in the Udyoga Parva, Chapter 8.

The Droṇa Parva: the eleventh day

In the Droṇa Parva, Śalya fought on the eleventh day of the war, when Droṇa was senāpati. He fought Bhīmasena in battle and Bhīmasena defeated him. This is noted in Chapter 15 of the Droṇa Parva (Chapters 15 to 16).

The Karṇa Parva: Śalya as Karṇa’s charioteer

Chosen as charioteer

The Karṇa Parva opens with the appointment of Karṇa as sarvasenapati (supreme commander). One of his first acts was to choose Śalya as his sārathi (charioteer) for the last days of the war. This was a careful choice. Śalya was known as one of the finest handlers of horses in the world, and his skill with horses was said to equal or exceed Kṛshṇa’s. Karṇa wanted the best sārathi for his great meeting with Arjuna.

Śalya first refused. It was a loss of standing for a great king to serve as another man’s charioteer. But Duryodhana urged him, and Śalya accepted. He set one condition. He would speak freely to Karṇa and would not hold back. He would praise when praise was due and blame when he thought blame was due. Karṇa agreed.

The strain between them

Throughout the Karṇa Parva there is a steady strain between Karṇa and Śalya. At heart Śalya stood with the Pāṇḍavas, since he was the maternal uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva. His way of speaking often weakened Karṇa at hard moments. He would praise Arjuna and Kṛshṇa, or speak of Karṇa’s weak points and of Arjuna’s sure victory, just when Karṇa needed a steady voice and encouragement.

Karṇa kept asking him to drive, to hold steady, and to keep his talk of such things for later. In one well-known exchange, Karṇa asked Śalya directly: “If I fall, what will you do?” Śalya gave an honest and somewhat cold answer. This is in Chapter 87.

After Karṇa’s death: the report to Duryodhana

Karṇa fell in Chapter 91. Śalya went back to Duryodhana and told him what had happened. He described the field in vivid words: the destruction, the collapse of the Kaurava army and the state of the battlefield. He advised Duryodhana to withdraw. His description of the field in Chapters 93 and 94 is one of the most striking passages of the Karṇa Parva, full of grief and finality. In his report to Duryodhana he gives the repeated cry of warriors across the field: “Hā Karṇa! Hā Karṇa!”

The eighteenth day

After the Karṇa Parva, Śalya served as the last Kaurava senāpati on the eighteenth day of the war. Duryodhana appointed him, and he took command of the broken Kaurava remnant. Yudhishṭhira killed him that day. Yudhishṭhira fought directly only a few times in the war.

The Śalya Parva: command and death

Appointed senāpati

On the morning of the eighteenth day, Duryodhana looked over what was left of the Kaurava forces. The army was broken. Karṇa, Droṇa and Bhīshma were gone. Only a few of the great commanders who had begun the war remained. In this crisis Duryodhana appointed Śalya as the last Kaurava sarvasenapati. The appointment honoured Śalya’s rank as a king and warrior, though his army was only a shadow of what it had been.

Śalya accepted. He gathered the remaining Kaurava forces and led them into battle. The fighting of the eighteenth day is told in the opening chapters of the Śalya Parva (Chapters 1 to 19).

Combat and death

In his short time as senāpati, Śalya fought with great courage. He attacked Yudhishṭhira directly, and the two fought. Yudhishṭhira, who fought directly only a few times in the war, rose to the moment. He struck Śalya with his śakti (spear) with all his strength. Śalya died on the field of Kurukshetra at the hand of Yudhishṭhira.

Śalya’s fall ended the organised Kaurava command. After it, Śakuni and Ulūka also died. Sahadeva killed Śakuni, and Ulūka was killed likewise. Duryodhana fled to take shelter in the Dvaipāyana lake.

Śalya’s son Rukmāratha

One of Śalya’s sons, Rukmāratha, was killed by Abhimanyu inside the Cakravyūha on the thirteenth day. Rukmāratha attacked Abhimanyu with great courage. A single bhalla (broadhead arrow) cut his jewelled head from his shoulders in one stroke. This showed Abhimanyu’s great skill with the bow. The loss was deeply felt in the Kaurava ranks. The Mahābhārata tells this in the Droṇa Parva, Chapter 38.

Another son killed by Sahadeva

The Śalya Parva (Chapter 11) says that during the fighting of the eighteenth day, Sahadeva killed another of Śalya’s sons. Sahadeva killed Śalya’s horses, and the king of Madra went on foot to face the Pāṇḍava. In the fight Sahadeva drew his great sword (mahākhaḍga) and cut off the head of Śalya’s son, who had come within reach. The text does not name this son.

Śalya’s brother killed by Yudhishṭhira

Just after Yudhishṭhira killed Śalya, Śalya’s younger brother rushed onto the field. The text calls him a youth (yuvakaḥ) and a rathī (chariot-fighter), equal to Śalya in courage. He burned with grief for his dead brother and wished to avenge him. He attacked Yudhishṭhira with a shower of arrows. Yudhishṭhira answered at once. With two ardha-candra (half-moon) arrows he cut down the young man’s bow and banner. Then with a sharp bhalla he struck off his head as it shone with its kuṇḍalas (earrings). The head fell from the chariot like a man whose puṇya (merit) is spent falling from svarga (heaven). When the Kauravas saw the brother of the king of Madra killed, their last resolve broke, and the army scattered in all directions. The Śalya Parva does not name him.

The Strī Parva: Gāndhārī’s lament

In the Strī Vilāpa Parva, Gāndhārī mourned Śalya as she looked over the fallen kings on the battlefield. She found him lying on his vīra śayana (hero’s bed). He had died fighting, facing his enemy, as was right for a kshatriya of his rank. She spoke of his courage and his kingship. He was the king of Madra, a warrior who fought on the Kaurava side though he was the maternal uncle of two of the Pāṇḍavas. He died at the hands of Yudhishṭhira on the eighteenth day, when he was the last commander-in-chief of the Kauravas.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapters 7–8
• Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva, Chapters 15–16
• Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva, Chapter 38
• Mahābhārata, Karṇa Parva, Chapters 5–96
• Mahābhārata, Śalya Parva, Chapters 1–19
• Mahābhārata, Strī Parva, Chapters 16–25