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Understand this post should only be for his character not for his career as a warrior.
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Shalya met Droupadi;
"O best of victors, how fortunately hast thou spent the term of thy residence in the wilderness, O king, O lord of monarchs, it was an exceedingly hard task that thou hast performed by dwelling in the wilderness together with thy brothers and this noble lady here."
Logic - he mentioned her as if she was standing or sitting near both of them when he talked to yudisther.
Shalya most likely was attracted to Droupadi as he was her suitor many decades ago;
"Then the great hero Salya, the king of Madra, endued with great strength, in endeavouring to string the bow fell upon his knees on the ground."
It was in a time where he had either adult or teenage sons that wanted to marry her too;
"The mighty car-warrior Salya, the king of Madra, with his son, the heroic Rukmangada, Rukmaratha."
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How Suyodhan gratified Shalya & made him indebt.
Duryodhana, hearing that magnanimous and mighty hero was on his way, hastened towards him.
And caused finely decorated places of entertainment to be constructed at different spots for his reception, on beautiful sites, and whither many artists were directed to entertain the guests. And those pavilions contained garlands and meat and the choicest viands and drinks, and wells of various forms, capable of refreshing the heart, and tanks of various forms, and edibles, and roomy apartments."
"And arriving at those pavilions, waited upon like a very god by the servants of Duryodhana located at different spots, Salya reached another house of entertainment resplendent as a retreat of the celestials."
That foremost of Kshatriyas, well-pleased, asked the servants, saying "Where are those men of Yudhishthira, who have prepared these places of refreshment? Let those men who made these be brought to me. I deem them worthy of being rewarded by me. I must reward them, let it so please the son of Kunti!" The servants, surprised, submitted the whole matter to Duryodhana.
When Salya was exceedingly pleased and ready to grant even his life, Duryodhana, who had remained concealed, came forward and showed himself to his maternal uncle. The kind of the Madras saw him & understood that it was Duryodhana who had taken all the trouble to receive him. Salya embraced Duryodhana and said "Accept something that you may desire." Duryodhana thereupon said "O thou auspicious one, let thy word be true, grant me a boon. I ask thee to be the leader of all my army.'
Comment: After this quote Shalya accepted it but also received permission to meet Yudisther immediately after that.
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The deal with Yudisther;
[QuotE]
"Good betide thee. Listen, O son of Panda. Thou tellest me to so act that the vile son of the Suta may be dispirited in fight. To be sure, I shall be his charioteer on the field, for he always considers me equal to Krishna. O tiger like descendant of Kuru, I shall certainly speak to him, when desirous of fighting on the field of battle, words contradictory and fraught with harm to him."
"So that bereft of pride and valour, he may be easily slain by his antagonist. This I tell thee truly. Asked by thee to do it, this I am determined to do, O my son. Whatever else I may be able to bring about, I shall do for thy good."
Logic - It's obvious that Shalya was literally a double agent, he aided both sides, he fought for the kauravas, even risking the lives of multiple sons of his own & brothers too just so the kauravas can have a chance of winning this war. But he also ensured he maintains his vows with Yudisther and keeps his relationship with him intact, shalya was a man that wanted to fulfill both duties he had to both parties & families.
It's worth noting that Shalya made this deal with Kunti's son Yudisther not with Madravati's two sons (Nakul/Sahadev). Showing how unbiased he is, this was a character that was fair to most people. After that deal Shalya just goes on a ramble about how Agastya got rid of Nahush & how Yudisther is destined to gain back whatever he lost like Indra was able to gain it back too.
He bid farewell to the pandavas;
"Similarly, O slayer of foes, thy enemies, Karna and Duryodhana and others of vicious souls will quickly be destroyed. Then, O hero, thou wilt enjoy the whole of this earth, as far as the sea, with thy brothers and this Draupadi. This story of the victory of Indra, equal to the Veda in its sacred character, should be listened to by a king desirous of victory and when his forces have been arrayed in order of battle. Therefore, O best of victors, I am reciting it to thee for thy victory, O Yudhishthira. High-souled persons attain prosperity when they are glorified. O Yudhishthira, the destruction of high-souled Kshatriyas is at hand by reason of the crimes of Duryodhana, and through the might also of Bhima and Arjuna."
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One final meeting before the war officially can start.
Bhishma Parva;
The king proceeded thither where the ruler of the Madra was. Saluting Salya & walking round him the king said unto that invincible warrior those words that were for his own benefit. Yudhishthira said "Obtaining thy permission, O invincible one, I will fight without incurring sin, and permitted by thee, O king, I will vanquish (my) valourous foes."
Salya said "If, having resolved on fight, thou hadst not come to me (thus), I would have, O king, cursed thee for thy overthrow in battle. I am gratified (with thee) and honoured (by thee). Let it be as thou wishest. I grant thee permission, fight and obtain victory. Speak, O hero, for what hast thou any need? What shalt I give thee? Under these circumstances, O king, battle excepted, what dost thou desire? A man is the slave of wealth but wealth is no one's slave. This is true, O king. Bound I have been with wealth by the Kauravas, O nephew, it is for this that I am speaking to thee like a eunuch I will accomplish the desire thou mayst cherish. Battle excepted, what dost thou wish." "Yudhishthira said, 'Think, O king, daily of what is for my great good. Fight, according to thy pleasure, for the sake of the foe. This is the boon that I solicit."
Salya said "Under these circumstances, say, O best of kings what aid shall I render thee? I shall, of course, fight for the sake of (thy) enemy, for I have been made one of their party by the Kauravas with their wealth." Yudhishthira said, 'Even that is my boon, O Salya, which was solicited by me during the preparations (for the fight). The energy of the Suta's son (Karna) should be weakened by thee in battle.' "Salya said, 'This thy wish, O Yudhishthira, shall be accomplished, O son of Kunti. Go, fight according to thy pleasure. I shall look after thy victory." 'Sanjaya continued, "Having obtained the permission of his maternal uncle, the ruler of the Madra, the son of Kunti, surrounded by his brothers, came out of that vast army.
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His verbal discussion's with Karna.
Beholding those two brothers made carless, that slayer of hostile heroes their maternal uncle, the ruler of the Madras, moved by compassion, addressed the son of Radha and said "Thou art to fight today with Pritha's son Phalguna. Why dost thou then, with rage inflamed to such a pitch, battle with Dharma's royal son? Thou art suffering thy weapons to be exhausted. Thy own armour is being weakened. With thy shafts reduced, and without quivers, with thy driver and steeds fatigued, and thyself mangled by foes with weapons, when thou wilt approach Partha, O son of Radha, thou wilt be an object of derision and mirth." Though thus addressed by the ruler of the Madras, Karna still, filled with rage, continued to assail Yudhishthira in battle. And he continued to pierce the two sons of Madri by Pandu with many keen arrows. Smiling the while, by means of his shafts he made Yudhishthira turn his face from the battle. Then Shalya, laughing, once more said unto Karna as the latter, excited with great wrath and resolved upon Yudhishthira's destruction stood on his car, these words, "Him for whose sake Dhritarashtra's son always honours thee, slay that Partha, O son of Radha. What wouldst thou gain by slaying Yudhishthira? The two Krishnas are blowing their conchs, whose loud blare is being heard. The twang also of Arjuna's bow is being heard, like the roar of the clouds in the season of rains. There, Arjuna, striking down the foremost of our car-warriors with his arrowy down-pours, is devouring all our troops. Behold him, O Karna, in this battle. The two that are protecting his rear are Yudhamanyu and Uttamauja. The brave Satyaki is protecting his left wheel, and Dhrishtadyumna is protecting his right wheel. There, Bhimasena is fighting with the royal son of Dhritarashtra. Act in such way, O son of Radha, that Bhima may not be able to slay the king today in the sight of us all. That the king may, indeed, escape him. Behold, Duryodhana is brought under the power of Bhimasena, that ornament of battle. Approaching if thou canst rescue him, it will, indeed, be a very wonderful feat. Going thither, rescue the king, for a great peril has overtaken him. What wilt thou gain by slaying the sons of Madri or king Yudhishthira?" Hearing these words of Shalya, O lord of Earth, and beholding Duryodhana overpowered by Bhima in that dreadful battle, the valiant son of Radha, thus urged by the words of Shalya and exceedingly desirous of rescuing the king, left Ajatasatru and the twin sons of Madri by Pandu, and rushed for rescuing thy son. He was borne by his steeds that were fleet as birds and that were urged by the ruler of the Madras.
Logic; For some reason karna lacked the wisdom needed to understand that if he captured yudisther then the war is won, even Bheem would restrict himself and choose to not hurt Duryodhan more, yet Karna fell for the trap of Shalya's tongue.
Shalya did want the kauravas to win but here he wanted to maintain the honor of his relationship with nakul/sahadeva, to save them he decided to convince karna to let them go. He was not aware of karna's vow to spare them so it was a waste of his own time as his nephews were not in any danger, the only person vulnerable is yudisther.
If anything then this incident proved Shalya was a good uncle but a bad ally, still the same shalya tried his best in order to win the war for the kauravas the next day.
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NARRATIVE:
Beholding Arjuna thus advance & seeing the standard of that high-souled one the king of the Madras addressing Karna said "There comes that warrior having white steeds yoked unto his vehicle and having Krishna for his driver, slaying his foes in battle. There cometh he about whom thou wert enquiring, holding his bow Gandiva. If thou canst slay him today, great good may then be done to us. He cometh, O Karna, desirous of an encounter with thee, slaying, as he cometh, our chief warriors. Do thou proceed against that hero of Bharata's race. Avoiding all our warriors, Dhananjaya advanceth with great speed, for, as I think, an encounter with thee, judging by his form swelling with rage and energy. Blazing with wrath, Partha will not stop from desire of battle with anybody else save thee, especially when Vrikodara is being so much afflicted (by thee)."
"I do not behold any arrangements made for his protection, either on his flanks or at his rear. He advanceth alone against thee. Look after thy success now. Thou alone art able to encounter the two Krishnas in battle. Proceed, therefore, against Dhananjaya. Thou art the equal of Bhishma, of Drona, of Drona's son, of Kripa. Do thou resist in this great battle the advancing Savyasaci. Indeed, O Karna, slay this Dhananjaya that resembles a snake frequently darting out its tongue, or a roaring bull, or a tiger in the forest. There, those kings, those mighty car-warriors of the Dhritarashtra's army, through fear of Arjuna, are quickly flying away, regardless of one another."
Note - I have edited this quote abit only with a intention of making it easier to read not a intention to mislead reader's. In the link after "afflicted" & "I do not behold" their was alot of additional but irrelevant text.
But this quote basically is evidence that showed Shalya encouraged karna, increasing his confidence, making him actually focus on his goal (kill Arjuna) for once.
In the link itself after Shalya's first line then Karna said "Thou seemest now to be in thy usual frame of mind & thou art now agreeable to me." He then goes onto speak & brag more by claiming that he will either kill arjuna/krishna or get slain by both of them together, as even if he is capable to win every victory is dependent upon destiny only. While Shalya replies by praising Arjuna, my view here is that Arjuna getting praised this time was a tactic used by Shalya to alert Karna so he stays more vigilant.
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During Duhsasana Vadha.
Sanjaya's dialogue; "Upon the fall of those ten heroes, thy army fled away in the very sight of the Suta's son, overwhelmed with the fear of the Pandavas. Then, O king, great fear entered the heart of Karna at sight of Bhima's prowess which resembled that of the Destroyer himself unto living creatures."
Then Shalya understanding the state of Karna's mind from a survey of his features, addressed him in words suited to the hour "Do not be grieved, O son of Radha! This deed does not become thee. Afflicted with the fear of Bhimasena, these kings are all flying away. Exceedingly pained by the calamity that has befallen his brother Duhshasana in consequence of his blood having been quaffed by the high-souled Bhima, Duryodhana is stupefied! Kripa and others, and those of the king's brothers that are still alive, with afflicted hearts, their rage quelled by sorrow, are tending Duryodhana, sitting around him. Those heroes, the Pandavas of sure aim, headed by Dhananjaya, are advancing against thee for battle. For these reasons, O tiger among men, mustering all thy prowess and keeping the duties of a Kshatriya before thy eyes, proceed against Dhananjaya. The entire burthen (of this battle) has been placed upon thee by the son of Dhritarashtra. O thou of mighty arms, bear that burthen to the best of thy power and might. In victory there will be great fame. In defeat, heaven is certain. There, O son of Radha, thy son, Vrishasena, filled with wrath at sight of the stupefaction that has overwhelmed thee, is rushing towards the Pandavas."
Hearing these words of Shalya of immeasurable energy, Karna, reflecting, concluded unalterably that fighting had become unavoidable.
Logic - though previously bheem was afflicted by karna now it is karna that is intimidated, his army fled, the point does indicate bheem's superiority again, but a more important point here is that Shalya was basically acting like a big brother that cheers his little brother (Karna) up and motivates him to keep fighting, he was acting like a noble friend instead of a dushman/enemy/ghar ka bedi.
Shalya's promise to Karna.
Then the Suta's son, smilingly addressing Shalya said "If Partha by any means slays me in battle today, tell me truly, O friend, what thou wilt do after that." Shalya answered saying "If thou art slain, I myself will slay both Krishna and Dhananjaya." Once more the ruler of the Madras said, "If, O Karna, the white steeded Arjuna slays thee in battle today, I myself, on a single car, will slay both Madhava and Phalguna."
Shalya's last words to Karna;
The Suta's son did not know that the snake Aswasena had entered his arrow by the aid of his Yoga powers. Beholding Vaikartana aim that arrow, the high-souled ruler of the Madras, addressing Karna, said, "This arrow, O Karna, will not succeed in striking off Arjuna's head. Searching carefully, fix another arrow that may succeed in striking off thy enemy's head." Endued with great activity, the Suta's son, with eyes burning in wrath, then said unto the ruler of the Madras, "O Shalya, Karna never aimeth an arrow twice. Persons like us never become crooked warriors." Having said these words, Karna, with great care, let off that shaft which he had worshipped for many long years.
Logic; wasted advice on a overrated warrior that doesn't have intelligence, yet people blame shalya not karna.
Shalya ran from the field;
"Beholding the heroic Karna thrown down stretched on the earth, pierced with arrows and bathed in blood, the king of the Madras, went away on that car deprived of its standard. After the fall of Karna, the Kauravas, deeply pierced with shafts in that battle, and afflicted with fear, fled away from the field, frequently casting their eyes on that lofty standard of Arjuna that blazed with splendour."
Logic - it would have been cowardly only if he refused to fight in the war after this, a retreat once is not a retreat each time, yeah the man ran away, but he still wanted to keep his promise which is why he returns later to fight, and for the record every other kourava warrior excluding Suyodhan had ran during this moment, they needed a break.
He told his leader this; "Brave kings, who in energy, courage, and might, were equal to Kuvera or Yama or Vasava or the Lord of the waters, who were possessed of every merit, who were almost unslayable, and who were desirous of achieving thy object, have in battle been slain by the Pandavas. Do not, O Bharata, grieve for this. This is Destiny. Comfort thyself. Success cannot be always attained."
Logic; i do not see anything wrong in this action Shalya was trying to tell duryodhan that rather than grieve he should work to the goal of dying with weapons in his hands in battle, just dont expect to be victorious in the war.
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Shalya the advisor:
"Behold this awful field of battle, O hero, covered with heaps of slain men and steeds and elephants. Some tracts are covered with fallen elephants huge as mountains, exceedingly mangled, their vital limbs pierced with shafts, lying helplessly, deprived of life, their armour displaced and the weapons, the shields and the swords with which they were equipped lying scattered about."
[REMOVED WHAT IS NOT IMPORTANT]
"The earth has become impassable with heaps of slain men and steeds and elephants, and with cars broken with the shafts of Dhananjaya and Adhiratha's son and with the numberless shafts themselves shot by them."
[REMOVED WHAT IS NOT IMPORTANT]
"In consequence of well-equipped royal cars deprived of riders and dragged by fleet steeds, as also of men and elephants and cars and horses that fled very quickly, the army has been broken in diverse ways. Spiked maces with golden bells, battle-axes, sharp lances, heavy clubs, mallets, bright unsheathed swords, and maces covered with cloth of gold, have fallen on the field."
[REMOVED WHAT IS NOT IMPORTANT]
"Turn back, O Duryodhana! Let the troops retire! O king, O giver of honours, proceed towards thy camp! There, the Sun is hanging low in the welkin, O lord! Remember, O ruler of men, that thou art the cause of all this!"
Logic; here shalya did the right thing again, he stopped duryodhan from doing a futile cause, it was with a intention of living to fight another day and letting the innocent soldier's get needed rest.
Quote;
At the sound of the heroic Madhava's conch as also at that of Arjuna's, all the Kauravas, O best of kings, became filled with fright. Those foremost of men, causing the forests, the mountains, the rivers and the points of the compass to resound with the blare of their conchs, and filling the army of thy son with fright, gladdened Yudhishthira therewith. As soon as the Kauravas heard the blare of those conchs that were thus being blown, all of them left the field with great speed, deserting the ruler of the Madras and the chief of the Bharatas Duryodhana.
Logic; who abandoned who is known clearly here, that its the kourav army (ashwathama) that abandons shalya/duryodhan. Not shalya abandoning the kauravas, karna, duryodhan etc.
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Other misconceptions about Shalya.
1 - "he lost to karna once, either in a swayamvar or in a digvijay"
Debunk - this is not correct because shalya had heated arguments & debates with karna on day seventeen. Though karna him alot he does not ever mention a incident where shalya was defeated by him in a fight or his nation was conquered. So for anyone to claim shalya lost to karna is ridiculous because Mahabharat has no mention of a battle or fight where karna defeated shalya.
2 - "he defeated arjun either on the 18th day or before that"
Debunk - this is false as it never happened, in each encounter they had arjun always defeated shalya or it was interrupted.
3 - "shalya was listed as one of the warriors that could murder kichaka"
Debunk - this incident where duryodhan mentioned 3 to 6 individuals he knew that could win against keechak is present only in southern versions of Mahabharat, in tv serials like chopra's version it was karna who made this fake list, regardless it's not a list that sohuld be taken seriously but i agree that Shalya is strong enough to win against keechak based on their fights with bheem where shalya had mace fights with the pandava prince as i already discussed in a old post; https://logicastra.blogspot.com/2019/07/shalya-respect-thread.html
4 - "he had two aukshounis"
Debunk - this is not true because udyog parva mentions the king of madrakas only had 1 aukshuhini not two.
Quote;
"He was the master, O king, of an Akshauhini and had great prowess and valour. And there were in his army heroes bearing armour of various colours, with diverse kinds of banners and bows and ornaments and cars and animals, all wearing excellent garlands, and various robes and ornaments."
A stupid serial named Dharmaksetra tried to say shalya had four aukshounis.
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FAMILY OF SALYA.
Father is king Artayana.
{Quote}
"Artayana's son, dauntless in battle, that first of warriors, that foremost of all yet on thy side, he, that abandoned his own sister's sons, the Pandavas, for making his own words true, that hero endued with great activity who promised in the presence of Yudhishthira that he would in battle depress the proud spirit of Karna, that invincible Shalya, who is equal unto Sakra himself in energy, is still on the field, desirous of battling for thy sake."
{End}
Son;
[Begin]
"Shalya's son of great prowess, O sire, Rukmaratha, hath, O king, been slain in battle by Sahadeva although the former happened to be the latter's brother, having been the son of the latter's maternal uncle."
[Done]
Logic; this death would've occurred before day 17 ended.
Presence of more than 1 son.
[Quote]
"Salya, accompanied by a large body of troops and by his sons, all of whom were mighty in battle, was coming to the Pandavas."
Abhimanyu murders a son of Shalya:
"Beholding Rukmaratha, the honoured son of Salya, slain by the illustrious son of Subhadra, that Rukmaratha who had vowed to consume his foe or take him alive, many princely friends of Salya's son, O king, accomplished in smiting and incapable of being easily defeated in battle, and owning standards decked with gold, (came up for the fight). Those mighty car-warriors, stretching their bows full six cubits long, surrounded the son of Arjuna, all pouring their arrowy showers upon him."
18th day mrityu (sahadeva killed a 2nd son);
"The ruler of the Madras then slew the steeds of Sahadeva before his eyes. Then Sahadeva slew Shalya's son with his sword."
Brother.
[Start]
"The brave younger brother of the ruler of the Madras, that enhancer of the fears of foes, that handsome warrior armed with sword and shield, hath been slain by Subhadra's son."
[Complete]
Actual battle;
"The younger brother of Salya, filled with wrath, advanced against Abhimanyu, scattering his shafts. Arjuna's son however. endued with great lightness of hand, cut off his antagonist's head and charioteer, his triple bamboo-pole, his bed (on the car), his car-wheels, his yoke, and shafts and quiver, and car-bottom, by means of his arrows, as also his banner and every other implements of battle with which his car was equipped. So quick were his movements that none could obtain a sight of his person. Deprived of life, that foremost and chief of all ornaments of battle fell down on the earth, like a huge hill uprooted by a mighty tempest."
Other brother;
"Upon the fall of Shalya, the youthful younger brother of the king of the Madras, who was equal to his (deceased) brother in every accomplishment, and who was regarded as a mighty car-warrior, proceeded against Yudhishthira. Invincible in battle desirous of paying the last dues of his brother, that foremost of men quickly pierced the Pandava with very many shafts. With great speed king Yudhishthira the just pierced him with six arrows. With a couple of razor-faced arrows, he then cut off the bow and the standard of his antagonist. Then with a blazing and keen arrow of great force and broad head, he struck off the head of his foe staying before him. I saw that head adorned with earrings fall down from the car like a denizen of heaven falling down on the exhaustion of his merits."
So 1 brother died fighting yudisther and another dies fighting AbhimanyU.
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His argument with Karna.
How it began was that Karna started bragging, boasting etc like he almost always does, then in order to keep him alert, put him check, prevent him from getting overconfident Shalya had to speak his mind, he had to remind karna about his failure in virat parva, gandharv war etc.
Shalya's quote;
Having duly equipped that triumphal car, the foremost of its kind, which resembled the vapoury mansions in the sky, Shalya presented it to Karna, saying, "Blessed be thou, victory to thee."
Logic; if the man had an agenda against karna he would not wish for his victory in the war.
Defending his behavior.
Shalya said a logical thing which makes clear sense (that each country in the world had negative, adharmic, sinful & stupid people, it also is going to have good, virtuous people as well) cause each nation even now has its pros and cons, like pakistan, india & USA. But fans of karna consider Shalya to be "that retarded kid who repeats everything" So i consider shalya's accusation (that karna sold women & children as slaves) to be honest/genuine.
Another thing is that when suyodhan proposed the plan to shalya himself in the morning (become karna's driver) then shalya initially had refused, the only reason he was talked into doing otherwise is because of duryodhan praising him to the point where he compared shalya to prajapati brahma dev himself. That is why shalya agreed, it is possible deep down inside shalya felt sorry for karna, did not want to insult him or make him depressed and that is why he refused when first asked to be the driver of karna.
Quote:
"I am one whose coronal locks have undergone the sacred bath. I am born in a race of royal sages. I am reckoned a great car-warrior. I deserve the worship and the praises that bards and eulogists render and sing. Being all this, O slayer of hostile troops, I cannot go to the extent of acting as the driver of the Suta's son in battle. I will never fight, undergoing an act of humiliation. I ask thy permission, O son of Gandhari, for returning home."
The condition placed by Shalya before agreeing:
Shalya said, "O son of Gandhari when thou O giver of honours, describest me before thy troops to be superior to the son of Devaki I am exceedingly gratified with thee. I accept the drivership of the celebrated son of Radha when he will fight with that foremost of the sons of Pandu, as thou desirest. I have, however, O hero, a compact to make with Vaikartana, and that is this I will utter whatever words I may wish, in this one's presence." Thy son then with Karna answered the ruler of the Madras, saying "Let it be so" in the presence of all the kshatriyas. Assured by Shalya's acceptance of the drivership, Duryodhana, filled with joy, embraced Karna.
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