About:
The Lesser Known is a type of Mahabharat character that is less explored (not many events of their life are shown in mahabharat era books available), known (most fans are clueless or unaware of the characters existence), discussed about (by fans/reader's) or shown in tv serials.
1st i will give quotes regarding Shalva during Mahabharat but after that i will focus on Shalva's presentation during Bhagawatam.
POST BEGINS.
Dwaraka was not empty during his attack at all.
[Quote]
"Salwa, burning with fierce anger, came to Dwaraka, while, O Bharata, it was empty, myself being away, residing with you here. And having arrived there on a car made of precious metals and hence called the Souva, he had an encounter with the youthful princes of the Vrishni race those bulls of that line & fought with them mercilessly."
[Complete]
The brave king was able to murder multiple of those princes which is an achievement in itself;
[starT]
"And slaughtering many youthful Vrishnis of heroic valour, the wicked one devastated all the gardens of the city."
"Learning, O Kauravya, of his oppression of the Anarttas I resolved upon the destruction of that wretch!"
[completE]
Logic - this's respectable BECAUSE he was able to kill members of royalty something Duryodhan/Karna both failed in achieving in any of their expeditions.
The Yadavas were so frightened they stopped consuming alcohol, partying/drinking.
[Quote]
"Ugrasena and Uddhava and others, to prevent carelessness, Proclaimed throughout the city that nobody should drink. And all the Vrishnis and the Andhakas, well-knowing that they would be slain by Salwa if they behaved carelessly, remained sober and watchful."
[Done]
Note - if only they had enough common sense during mausala parva to remain in their senses and abstain from such beverages.
But on topic this proves how much of a threat king Salwa is to them, he should be taken more seriously by mahabharat fans.
The frightened yadavas began relying on the SCORCHED EARTH policy;
[quote]
"And all the bridges over rivers were destroyed, and boats forbidden to ply, and the trenches (around the city) were spiked with poles at the bottom. And the land around the city for full two miles was rendered uneven, and holes and pits were dug thereon, and combustibles were secreted below the surface."
[ending]
Logic - this in itself proves how desperate, frustrated and weak they were compared to a brave person like Shalva.
Possibly Salwa is the name of a tribe and he just inherited this name as a surname/last name:
"The ruler of the Salwas was before this mentally chosen by me as my lord."
Note - if it was a nation then Amba would've said "ruler of Salwa" not "ruler of the Salwas" indicating a clan/tribal identity.
Clarification on the identity of his kingdom.
[begin]
"I heard what, O Kaurava, the evil-minded and wicked king of Maticka had said regarding myself! And, O descendant of the Kuru race, I was agitated with wrath, and, O king, having reflected upon everything, I set my heart upon slaying him!"
[complete]
Logic - as u can read it was not Soubha or Souva or Mlecch or Salweya or even "salwas" instead it was "Maticka" simple and short.
Soubha was the name for his chariot/vimana;
"Having, O son of the Kuru race, abused me thus, he rose into the sky on his car of precious metals capable of going anywhere at will!"
"And having arrived there on a car made of precious metals and hence called the Souva."
[complete]
Yudisthir called him it's lord:
"O illustrious Vasudeva of mighty arms, tell thou in detail of the death of the lord of Saubha."
Note - cause his vehicle which was a flying chariot/vimana was famous, he was famed as its master and "lord" is another word or synonym for that.
A brahmin called him the lord of Soubha.
[Quote]
"Is it thy wish that the lord of Saubha should be urged to wed thee, the high-souled Rama will certainly urge him from desire of doing thee good?"
Daruka's son (charioteer of Pradyumna) lied in order to make his rider/warrior feel better.
Quote;
"O son of Kesava, the task, I ween, of vanquishing Salwa is difficult for thee! Therefore, O hero, I am slowly retiring from the field. This wretch is stronger than thou art! It behoveth a charioteer to protect the warrior on the car, however, when he is deprived of his senses! O thou gifted with length of days, thou shouldst always be protected by me, even as it behoveth thee to protect me!"
"Thinking that the warrior on the car should always be protected (by his charioteer), I am carrying thee away! Further, O thou of mighty arms, thou art alone, while the Danavas are many. Thinking, O son of Rukmini, that thou art not equal to them in the encounter, I am going away!"
[Ending]
Comment - in reality it was just a fight between Pradyumna & Salwa, no third person intervened, their were not multiple danavas that came to aid that brave king that slapped Pradyumna & made him faint, in order to make his driver happy the son of Daruka is blatantly lying, because maybe if he told the truth then Pradyumna might have punished him.
Salwa proved to be a follower of dharma.
[passage]
"The army headed by king Salwa, consisting of four kings of forces, occupied a level ground commanding a copious water-supply. And forsaking cemeteries and temples dedicated to the gods, and sacred trees, and grounds covered by ant-hills, that host occupied every other place."
[complete]
Note - this's clear evidence that his army practiced religion, they had a policy against disrespecting divine and sacred artifacts. They had mercy in their heart's, they had a moral code unlike the namard vanaras of Yuddha Kanda who harassed innocent people. Salwa's army had respect for the dead too so they spared any tombs.
He was a braveheart who seeing his death challenged it face-to-face like a tiger.
[Passage]
"Seeing me from a distance, O Yudhishthira, that one of wicked soul himself challenged me repeatedly to the fight. And many arrows capable of piercing to the quick, discharged from my bow reached not his car. And at this I was wroth! And, O king, that essentially sinful wretch of a Daitya's son of irrepressible energy, on his part began to shoot thousand upon thousands of arrows in torrents! And, O Bharata, he rained shafts upon my soldiers and upon my charioteer and upon my steeds!"
Note - this was actually a group attack conducted by bhagvan Krishna while Salwa being alone was like a last man standing or a bollywood action hero fighting alone against his enemies.
The interference of Salwa's army comes later, the previous quote had only Salwa fighting the following quote has his assistants getting involved.
[Narrative]
"Then the warriors following Salwa poured on me straight arrows by thousands. And the Asuras covered my horses and my car and Daruka with arrows capable of piercing the very vitals. And, O hero, I could not at that time see either my horses, or my car, or my charioteer Daruka! And I with my army was covered with weapons. And, O son of Kunti, superhumanly skilled in weapons, I also let fly from my bow arrows by tens of thousands, inspiring them with mantras! But as that car of costly metals was in the sky, full two miles off, it could not, O Bharata, be seen by my troops."
Logic - this is not a suitable excuse provided by Krishna, because the asuras were also in that floating sky vehicle (referred to as a "car") so they also could not clearly see their targets (yadava enemies) that are a distance of 2 miles away.
=
DETAILS OF THE INVASION.
Part 1;
[quote]
"The wicked king, stationing his forces in array, besieged that city around and above. And stationing himself in the upper regions, the king began his fight with the city. And that encounter commenced with a thick shower of weapons from all sides."
[done]
My commentary:
Its abit confusing (the whole incident) as Krishna mentioned the city (dwaraka) got besieged, but my thing is dwaraka was an island, so if Salwa did invade from all sides (the word "around" is mentioned too not just "above") then where is the navy? He should have a horse of boats with him too right for naval warfare? How else do u invade a island from around when the aircraft/plane (flying-chariot) is only capable of doing aerial attacks from the sky not from flanks or corners.
Also in former chapter Krishna mentioned that he subdued multiple "danavas" as well, so i assume those danavas were allies/men that fought on Salwa's side. So if Salwa had assistants helping him fend krishna off when krishna attacked him in another island how come Salwa had no ASSISTANTS during a more dangerous/risky part of his life like the invasion? Surely him invading enemy territory (Dvaraka) is more dangerous and risk taking/life-threatening compared to a invasion on his own soil by one person (krishna) due to the simple fact he could be surrounded & ganged up on when attacking Dvaraka.
=
Part 2;
No need for quotes as the link is already available. In order to sum it up a prince called Samva defeated a nameless counselor & a warrior neither of them died but he proceeded to kill one Vegavat. While Charudeshna (the lesser known beta of Krishna) murders a danava whose name seems to have been inspired from the vindhya hills.
After that Pradyumna slew a bunch of infantry men, after making a speech to encourage his countrymen he then challenges king Salwa to a fair fight.
Definition of Vegavat's name can be found here:
vegavattaraiH = those that dash fleetly
Footnotes in bhishma parva;
The Bombay reading 'Vegavattaram' is better. Literally, it means, 'capable of imparting a greater impetus.'
=
Part 3.
This will deal with elaboration on the duel between two warrior's.
{Quote}
"The angry Salwa could ill bear the challenge! And that conqueror of hostile cities, Salwa, maddened by anger, descended from his beautiful car of unchecked speed, resolved to encounter Pradyumna. And the people beheld the fight between Salwa and the foremost of Vrishni heroes, which was even like unto the encounter between Vasava with Vali. And, O hero, mounting on his beautiful car decked with gold and furnished with flags and flag-staffs and quivers, the illustrious and mighty Salwa began to discharge his arrows at Pradyumna! Pradyumna also by the energy of his arms, overwhelmed Salwa in the combat by a thick shower of arrows. The king of Saubha, however, thus attacked in battle by Pradyumna, endured him not, but discharged at my son arrows that were like blazing fire. But the mighty Pradyumna parried off that arrowy shower. Beholding this, Salwa rained on my son other weapons of blazing splendour. Then, O foremost of monarchs, pierced by the shafts of Salwa, the son of Rukmini discharged without loss of time an arrow that was capable of entering the vitals of a foe in fight."
"And that winged shaft shot by my son, piercing Salwa's mail, entered his heart- whereupon he fell down, in a swoon. And beholding the heroic king Salwa fallen down deprived of sense, the foremost of the Danavas fled away rending the ground beneath their feet. And, O lord of the earth, the army of Salwa sent up exclamations of Oh! and Alas! seeing their king, the lord of Saubha, drop down bereft of sense! And regaining his senses, the mighty Salwa rose and all of a sudden discharged his arrows on Pradyumna. Then the heroic and mighty armed Pradyumna, sorely pierced by his adversary about his throat, was enfeebled on his car. And, O mighty king, wounding the son of Rukmini, Salwa sent up a shout like unto the roar of a lion, and filling the entire earth with it! And, O Bharata, when my son became senseless, Salwa, without losing a moment, again discharged at him other shafts difficult to bear. And pierced with numberless arrows and deprived of his senses, Pradyumna, O chief of the Kuru race, became motionless on the field of battle!"
{Complete}
[begins]
"O king, afflicted with the arrows of Salwa, when Pradyumna became senseless the Vrishnis who had come to the fight were all disheartened and filled with grief! And the combatants of the Vrishni and Andhaka races burst into exclamations of Oh! and Alas! while great joy was felt by the enemy and beholding him thus deprived of sense, his trained charioteer, the son of Daruka, soon carried him off the field by the help of his steeds. The car had not gone far when that best of warriors regained his senses, and taking up his bow addressed his charioteer."
[finish]
Logic - both swooned the other here, so they did equally as well. Though its true pradyumna remained senseless for a longer time period he atleast had the courtesy of playing fair, he fought with ethics by choosing to not exploit a moment where his enemy was knocked out unable to defend themselves in a condition like that.
Part 4.
Daruka's boy informed readers about a extent of injuries Pradyumna recieved:
"Thou wert also much afflicted! Thou wert much wounded by the arrows shot by Salwa. Thou wert also deprived of thy senses, O hero! Therefore is it that I retired from the field."
Later Pradyumna used brahmastra, though it left Salwa in a numbed or weakened condition for some reason it wasn't considered enough to finish him but what makes less sense is then Pradyumna conjured up a nameless arrow which gods in the sky claimed would be able to murder anyone (i assume that list excludes the tridevs). Pradyumna retracted the arrow cause he figured out Salwa's death is destined in the hand of Krishna not him.
And though Salwa could have just stood his ground & continued to fight (because Pradyumna is not allowed to use his full power now) for some reason he choose to run away, even though a couple of his commanders were still alive.
Quote;
"The mighty Salwa, afflicted with the arrows of Pradyumna, rose disheartened, and speedily went away. Then O king, the wicked Salwa, thus afflicted by the Vrishnis, mounted on his car of precious metals, and leaving Dwaraka scudded through the skies!"
Aftermath.
"When Salwa had left the city of the Anarttas, I returned to it, O king, on the completion of thy great Rajasuya sacrifice! On my arrival I found Dwaraka shorn of its splendour, and, O great monarch, there were not sounds of Vedic recitation or sacrificial offering, And the excellent damsels were all destitute of ornaments, and the gardens were devoid of beauty. And alarmed by the aspect, I asked the son of Hridika."
[End]
Note: it's clear that Salwa's effort was not wasted or futile, he still depowered Dwaraka, did sufficient damage to it despite being defeated. Its like the vietnam war, when ur home country is ruined then it is not a victory even if the mightiest nation/army flees (like USA fled).
Daruka's word:
"This one is not capable of being vanquished by milder measures. And he cannot in my opinion be thy friend who is fighting thee and who devastated Dwaraka!"
[ending]
=
Contradictory line of Pradyumna which made no sense.
[passage]
"He is no son of the Vrishni race who forsaketh the field or slayeth the foe fallen at his feet and crying I am thine! or killeth a woman, a boy, or an old man, or a warrior in distress, deprived of his car or with his weapons broken!"
[done]
Logic - the murder Putana is not just in a purana but also in sabha parva, it has cross references in mahabharat, so why did Krishna kill Putana then? Satyaki being a son of the vrishni race still murdered a old man like Somadatta (in the same age group as his grandpa Sini), Balaram killed Rukmi over a dice game when Rukmi had no weapon.
Who the young princes of the vrishni clan were.
[narrative]
"Beholding the army of Salwa, the youthful princess of the Vrishni race resolved to encounter it sallying out of the city. And, O king, Charudeshna, Samva, and the mighty warrior Pradyumna, O descendant of the Kuru race, sailed out, ascending on their chariots, and clad in mail, and decked with ornaments, with colours flying, resolved to encounter the mighty and countless host of Salwa!"
[done]
Logic - i am confused because Pradyumna was already a eligible adult during the Swayamvara Parva, assuming that incident occured 20 years before Salwa invaded them then Pradyumna shouldn't be considered a youth (although he probably looks like one) he would be either 35 (youngest) or 45 (maximum) in terms of age he cant be a youth. For Samva this line made more sense as he was born over 12 years after Pradyumna.
Bonus - if aniruddha was alive as a suitor in Draupadi's Swayamvara then it makes it all worse cause then Pradyumna shouldve already been a grandfather by this point in time. Regarding Charudeshna i dont have the required information regarding him to make a single opinion.
=
Another illogical incident.
Quote;
"Then, O hero, that car of precious metals capable of going anywhere at will, bewildering my eyes, reappeared at Pragjyotisha! And then the destroying Danavas of fierce forms suddenly drowned me with a mighty shower of rocks. And, O thou foremost of monarchs, torrents of rocks falling upon me covered me up, and I began to grow like an ant-hill (with its summits and peaks)! And covered along with my horses and charioteer and flagstaffs, with crags on all sides, I disappeared from sight altogether. Then those foremost of heroes of the Vrishni race who were of my army were, struck with panic, and all on a sudden began to fly in all directions. And beholding me in that plight, O king, the heaven, the firmament, and the earth were filled with exclamation of Oh! and Alas! And then, O monarch, my friends filled with sorrow and grief began to weep and wail with heavy hearts! And delight filled the hearts of the enemies. And O thou who never waverest, I heard of this after I had defeated the foe! And then wielding the thunderbolt, that favourite (weapon) of Indra, capable of riving stones, I destroyed that entire mass of crags! But my steeds, afflicted with the weight of the stones and almost on the point of death began to tremble. And beholding me, all my friends rejoiced again even as men rejoice on seeing the sun rise in the sky, dispersing the clouds. And seeing my horses almost in their last gasp for breath, afflicted with that load of stones, my charioteer said unto me."
Comment - my reason for considering it as a illogical moment is that now Salwa shifted from Martikavata (not his capital but rather just a place he visited) to now Pragjyotisha (city of Bhagadatta).
Side Note - it is impressive that nameless danavas were able to drub krishna by tossing rocks only. It reminds me of that incident in StarBharat (worse mahabharat tv serial ever) where in the khandava daha episodes Indra buried Arjuna by using stones and rocks once.
Cross reference of the above incident;
"At the gates of Saubha, that foremost of monkeys, known by the name of Dwivida, covered Kesava with a mighty shower of stones. Desirous of seizing Madhava by putting forth all his prowess and exertion, he did not yet succeed in seizing him. Seekest thou to apprehend that Kesava by force?"
Note - according to Vidura it was the ape Dwividh who did this not random nameless danavas or asuras. Also this means that Salwa's chariot had many gates.
One more thing which made no sense.
[begin]
I fixed on my bow-string my favourite weapon of fire, blazing and of celestial origin, of irresistible force, and incapable of being baffled, bursting with energy, capable of penetrating into everything, and of great splendour! And saying "Destroy the car of precious metals together with all those enemies that are in it." I launched with the might of my arms and in wrath with mantras, the great powerful discus Sudarsana which reduceth to ashes in battle Yakshas and Rakshasas and Danavas and kings born in impure tribes, sharp-edged like the razor, and without stain, like unto Yama the destroyer, and incomparable, and which killeth enemies. And rising into the sky, it seemed like a second sun of exceeding effulgence at the end of the Yuga.
And approaching the town of Saubha whose splendour had disappeared, the discus went right through it, even as a saw divideth a tall tree. And cut in twain by the energy of the Sudarsana it fell like the city of Tripura shaken by the shafts of Maheswara. And after the town of Saubha had fallen, the discus came back into my hands, And taking it up I once more hurled it with force saying "Go thou unto Salwa." The discus then cleft Salwa in twain who in that fierce conflict was at the point of hurling a heavy mace. And with its energy it set the foe ablaze. And after that brave warrior was slain, the disheartened Danava women fled in all directions.
[completed]
Note: the reason it makes no sense is because the text clearly states in the first line that Krishna fixed on his bow string a weapon, logically it can not be the sudarshan chakra as that is a discus which's hurled from your fingers now from a bow, so this means krishna placed an astra/missile on his bow but for some reason out of nowhere the discus came.
My opinion - first krishna used a missile/astra for destroying the fabric/structure of the town (the floating vehicle/chariot was big enough to house many danavas, asuras & warrior's). Then he used a sudarshan chakra to end Salwa's life, he DID NOT use sudarshan twice in this war.
=
Krishna's retaliation to the invasion.
He brought an army with him;
{Quote]
"O tiger among men, accompanied by my redoubted and victorious army consisting of the four kinds of the forces so persevering in battle, I set out. And leaving many countries, and mountains, crowned with trees, and pieces of water, and streams, I at last arrived at the country of Matrikavarta. It is there, O thou tiger among men, that I heard that Salwa was coursing on his car of precious metals near the ocean, and I followed in his pursuit."
Logic - even krishna uses a military force so nothing shameful or degrading about king Salwa getting a army to aid him.
His beloved charioteer got swooned like Parshuram got knocked by ordinary arrows.
[quote]
"Salwa covered Daruka, and my steeds, and my car also with hundreds of straight shafts. Then, O hero, Daruka, evidently about to faint, said unto me."
[finished]
Even the all powerful invincible god Krishna was brought down for a moment, a knock out happened.
[Proof]
"I was overwhelmed with grief! And it was in this state of mind that I encountered Salwa afresh. And now I saw, O great monarch, Vasudeva himself falling from the car of precious metals! And, O warrior I swooned away, and, O king of men, my sire seemed like unto Yayati after the loss of his merit, falling towards the earth from heaven! And like unto a luminary whose merit hath been lost saw my father falling, his head-gear foul and flowing loosely, and his hair and dress disordered. And then the bow Sharanga dropped from my hand, and, O son of Kunti I swooned away! I sat down on the side of the car. And, O thou descendant of the Bharata race, seeing me deprived of consciousness on the car, and as if dead, my entire host exclaimed Oh! and Alas!"
Logic - this tells u that Salwa is clearly a elite villain, he should be praised over karna, bhishma etc. But instead TV serials only show us the amateurish lightweight uncle Kamsa & the overrated Sakuni.
Cross reference of Krishna's revenge.
[Quote]
"It was Krishna who fought with king Salya, the lord of Saubha, stationed in the skies, fearless in consequence of his powers of illusion; and it was he, who, at the gate of Subha caught with his hands the fierce Sataghni (hurled by Saubha's lord)."
Logic - an obvious mistranslation of salwa to salya.
=
Battle against Bhishma.
ADI PARVA.
All the monarchs seeing Bhisma stop stood to become spectators of the coming encounter between him and Salya. The two began to exhibit their prowess. Then king Salya covered Bhishma, the son of Santanu with hundreds & thousand's of swift-winged shafts. Those monarchs seeing Salya thus covering Bhishma at the outset with innumerable shafts, wondered much & uttered shouts of applause. Beholding his lightness of hand in combat, the crowd of regal spectators became very glad & applauded Salya greatly.
That subjugator of hostile towns, Bhishma on hearing those shouts of the Kshatriyas, became very angry & said "Stay, Stay" In wrath, he commanded his charioteer "Lead thou my car to where Salya is, so that I may slay him instantly as Garuda slays a serpent." Then the Kuru chief fixed the Varuna weapon on his bow-string, and with it afflicted the four steeds of king Salya. And, O tiger among kings, the Kuru chief, then, warding off with his weapons those of his foe, slew Salya's charioteer. Then that first of men, Bhishma, the son of Santanu, fighting for the sake of those damsels, slew with the Aindra weapon the noble steeds of his adversary. He then vanquished that best of monarchs but left him with his life. O bull of Bharata's race, Salya, after his defeat, returned to his kingdom and continued to rule it virtuously.
Bhishma set out with those damsels, for Hastinapura whence the virtuous Kuru prince Vichitravirya ruled the earth like that best of monarchs his father Santanu. Of immeasurable prowess in battle, the son of the ocean-going Ganga, having slain numberless foes in battle without a scratch on his own person, brought the daughters of the king of Kasi unto the Kurus as tenderly if they were his daughters-in-law, or younger sisters, or daughters.
And Bhishma of mighty arms, impelled by the desire of benefiting his brother, having by his prowess brought them thus, then offered those maidens unto Vichitravirya. Conversant with the dictates of virtue, the son of Santanu, having achieved such an extraordinary feat according to custom, then began to make preparations for his brother's wedding. When everything about the wedding had been settled by Bhishma in consultation with Satyavati, the eldest daughter of the king of Kasi, with a soft smile, told him these words "At heart I had chosen the king of Saubha for my husband. He had, in his heart, accepted me for his wife. This was also approved by my father. At the self-choice ceremony also I would have chosen him as my lord."
Point - Amva claimed Salwa is the ruler of Soubha here, that means his vehicle might've existed before the swayamvara conflict (which itself occurs decades before Rukmini was born), but regarding the person who fought Bhishma it's likely that it was madra's lord Shalya not Soubha or Matika's king Salva. It is very easy to get both characters names mixed up. So this can't be judged as a fight between Salva and bhishma. But rather a incident where a tough king (Shalya) was defeated so all spectators began to hold bhishma in high regard and made up their minds to not stop him any longer.
UDYOG PARVA.
Bhishma himself talking about it decades later:
"All those kings, O monarch, surrounded me on all sides with a multitudinous number of cars. With a shower of arrows, I stopped their onrush on all sides and vanquished them like the chief of celestials vanquishing hordes of Danavas. Laughingly, with easiness I cut down the variegated standards, decked with gold, of the advancing kings, with blazing shafts, O bull of Bharata's race! In that combat I overthrew their steeds and elephants and car-drivers, each with a single arrow. Beholding that lightness (of hand) of mine, they desisted (from the fight) and broke. And having vanquished all those rulers of the earth, I came back to Hastinapura."
Comment - here clearly he overrated his own prowess & achievements. He pretends that nobody not a single warrior was difficult for him or claims they all encircled him. I would like to point out the fact that its obvious those 3 kumaris were on his chariot and they were the 3 girls that those Kshatiryas considered valuable prizes they desired to save and protect, obviously they would not risk one of their stray arrows, darts, lances or spears hitting the frail bodies of those 3 princesses. Most likely they did not attack bhishma from all four sides (front, back, left, right etc), but rather they only came at him face to face.
What bhishma claims that king Salwa said to Amba;
[begin]
Salwa said unto her "I am in terror of Bhishma, O thou of fair hips, thou art Bhishma's capture!" Thus addressed by Salwa destitute of foresight, that maiden issued out of his city sorrowfully.
[complete]
Conclusion - Soubha's king Salwa (same guy that krishna killed & pradyumna lost against) was among the kings who were defeated by him in the swayamvara, but Shalya was the king that put up the best resistance against him, it was not easy for Bhishma as he claims. Bhishma had to rely on a mixture of Aindrastra & Varunastra just for besting Shalya (king of Madra).
If Salwa really wanted to beat Bhishma he could have done an aerial attack on bhishma's head with the floating chariot vehicle (Soubha). Bhishma defeated Salwa before he reached his peak as a fighter. Because he used alot of illusion and magic during his duels with Pradyumna (they fought eachother twice in dwaraka) & against Krishna too.
=
ENDING;
What most people do not understand (very few even know of a Salwa) is that for all 3 of the major conflicts Salwa got involved in the only accounts and recitations or narrations (historical record's) that are available would be accounts given by his enemies. Like Bhishma in Udyog Parva. Krishna narrates the battle between Pradyumna (his own son) & Salwa in vana parva, obviously Krishna would be biased in favor of his own son like Bhishma was biased in his own favor. And of course Krishna recited his own battle with Salwa, clearly it is unfair for Salwa's character as a warrior. And this again shows the hypocritical nature of indians, hindus and other biased people.
It is very similar to the famous incident of the battle of hydaspes (Alexander vs Porus), where indians say "we can not rely on greek sources or macedonian sources because they are biased even though the only reason we know that Porus existed is due to greek and hellenistic historians and writers because indians and pakistanis (or any brahmin in the kingdom of Porus) did not consider him worthy of being mentioned in a historical source" similarly we do not have any information regarding Salwa's side of the story.
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Of course he lost but it is likely he put up a better fight against his enemies and the valour of krishna's sons was most likely exaggerated by him in his narration of their conflict with Salwa. The "history written by winners" point is relevant when it comes to the accounts of Jarasandha vs Yadavas & the battles of king Salwa. But not when it comes to the kurukshetra war because vyasa was the biological (related by blood) grandfather of the kauravas, he clearly was not biased, neither was Souti or Vaisampayana, the king named Janamejaya considered the kauravas to be his ancestors and relatives too. If they were lying in their narrative they would not have admitted that Karna was a brother of the pandavas & that Pandavas did nothing when their wife was being stripped naked.
Think now, if Krishna himself would faint due to Salwa's magic trick then how can Pradyumna be a threat for a guy like Salwa? Logically bhishma overrated his own prowess in the account of his battle (as he recited it) while Krishna would overrate the power of his own sons but possibly be honest regarding his own battle with Salwa.
=
ALTERNATE VERSION OF THE STORY.
This's about Shalva's portrayal in "Bhagavatam" which's considered a contemporary but credible text alongside Mahabharata.
Shalva did tapasya for his vehicle;
Śālva was a friend of Śiśupāla’s. When he attended the wedding of Rukmiṇī, the Yadu warriors defeated him in battle along with other kings. Śālva swore in the presence of all the kings “I will rid the earth of Yādavas. Just see my prowess!” Having thus made his vow, the foolish King proceeded to worship Lord Paśupati [Śiva] as his deity by eating a handful of dust each day, and nothing more. The great Lord Umāpati is known as “he who is quickly pleased,” yet only at the end of a year did he gratify Śālva, who had approached him for shelter, by offering him a choice of benedictions. Śālva chose a vehicle that could be destroyed by neither demigods, demons, humans, Gandharvas, Uragas nor Rākṣasas, that could travel anywhere he wished to go, and that would terrify the Vṛṣṇis.
Lord Śiva said, “So be it.” On his order, Maya Dānava, who conquers his enemies’ cities, constructed a flying iron city named Saubha and presented it to Śālva. This unassailable vehicle was filled with darkness and could go anywhere. Upon obtaining it, Śālva went to Dvārakā, remembering the Vṛṣṇis enmity toward him.
Issue - it's mentioned Shiva became pleased by him within less than a year (assuming it is 365 days and not a month). So a obvious timeline mistake would pop up, does this mean that Salva began his meditation to Shiva after Sisupala's death and then a year or a month passed until the invasion of Dwaraka/game of dice in hastinapura?
Other - if Salva's tapasya begins after the marriage of Rukmini (occurring before Swayamvara Parva in Mahabharat) still he gets a vehicle before arjuna is exiled in adi parva (before wedding Subhadra). Then that means he had the vehicle before Jarasandha died too, so why did Salva not invade Dvaraka earlier when sisupala was alive? Really does not make sense for the man to wait before attacking.
Like maybe he should've attacked when Balram was training suyodhana or when krishna was with arjuna fighting enemies at khandava. Or the time when Pradyumna was a child untrained in battles that would give Shalva less difficulty during the invasion.
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Alternate version of his attack on Dvaraka soil.
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Śālva besieged the city with a large army decimating the outlying parks & gardens, the mansions along with their observatories, towering gateways, surrounding walls & public recreational areas. From his excellent airship he threw down a torrent of weapons, stones, tree trunks, thunderbolts, snakes and hailstones. A fierce whirlwind arose & blanketed all directions with dust. Thus terribly tormented by the airship Saubha, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s city had no peace, O King, just like the earth when it was attacked by the three aerial cities of the demons. Seeing His subjects so harassed, the glorious and heroic Lord Pradyumna told them “do not fear” and mounted a chariot.
The chief commanders of the chariot warrior's Sātyaki, Cārudeṣṇa, Sāmba, Akrūra & his younger brothers, along with Hārdikya, Bhānuvinda, Gada, Śuka and Sāraṇa went out of the city with many other eminent bowmen, all girded in armor & protected by contingents of soldiers riding on chariots, elephants & horses also by companies of infantry. A tumultuous, hair-raising battle then commenced between Śālva’s forces and the Yadus.
It equaled the great battles between the demons & demigods. With divine weapons Pradyumna instantly destroyed all of Śālva’s magic illusions. Lord Pradyumna’s arrows all had gold shafts, iron heads & perfectly smooth joints. With 25 of them he struck down Śālva’s commander-in-chief [Dyumān], and with one hundred he struck Śālva himself. Then he pierced Śālva’s officers with one arrow each, his chariot drivers with ten arrows each & his horses with 3 arrows each. When they saw the glorious Pradyumna perform that amazing and mighty feat, all the soldiers on both sides praised him.
Note - if soldier's of both sides praised Pradyumna then that means the danavas or followers of king Salva were humble, kind & had good behavior akin to positive sportsmanship, they did not disrespect a enemy. Can we say the same for any of the yadavas here?
GOES ON:
At one moment the magic airship built by Maya Dānava appeared in many identical forms & the next moment it was again only one. Sometimes it was visible sometimes not. Thus Śālva’s opponents could never be sure where it was. From one moment to the next the Saubha airship appeared on the earth, in the sky, on a mountain peak or in the water. Like a whirling, flaming baton, it never remained in any one place. Wherever Śālva would appear with his Saubha ship & army, their the Yadu commanders would shoot their arrows. Śālva became bewildered upon seeing his army & aerial city thus harassed by his enemy’s arrows, which struck like fire & the sun & were as intolerable as snake venom.
Because the Vṛṣhṇi heroes were eager for victory in this world & the next, they did not abandon their assigned posts on the battlefield, even though the downpour of weapons hurled by Śālva’s commanders tormented them. Śālva’s minister Dyumān, previously wounded by Śrī Pradyumna, now ran up to Him and, roaring loudly, struck him with a club of black steel. Pradyumna’s driver, the son of Dāruka, thought that his valiant master’s chest had been shattered by the club. Knowing well his religious duty, he removed Pradyumna from the battlefield.
{End}
Logic - here clearly it's worse much worse for Pradyumna in Bhagavatam compared to Mahabharat, because a low rated villain who is a supporting villain instead of a major/main villain was able to do this to him. Instead of Śālva it is Dyumān that KOD (knocked out) Pradyumna here. The deed was conducted through a regular normal weapon too so it just looks worse for the famed, esteemed, champion prince Pradyumna.
Next Phase:
Quickly regaining consciousness Lord Kṛṣṇa’s son Pradyumna said to his charioteer "O driver this is abominable for Me to have been removed from the battlefield! Except for Me, no one born in the Yadu dynasty has ever been known to abandon the battlefield. My reputation has now been stained by a driver who thinks like a eunuch. What will I say to My fathers, Rāma & Keśava, when I return to Them after having simply fled the battle? What can I tell Them that will befit My honor? Certainly My sisters-in-law will laugh at me" And say 'O hero, tell us how in the world Your enemies turned You into such a coward in battle.'
The driver replied "O long lived one, I have done this knowing full well my prescribed duty. A chariot driver must protect the master of the chariot when he is in danger & the master must protect his driver. With this rule in mind, I removed You from the battlefield, since You had been struck unconscious by Your enemy’s club & I thought you were seriously injured."
https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/76/
Differences - in mahabharat's vana parva their was no involvement, presence or existence of Satyaki during the invasion of Shalva. The only thing mentioned is that Pradyumna felt ashamed to face Satyaki once he discovered the fact that Pradyumna had to run from the invader Salva. In Mahabharat Samva fought and defeated both Vegavat & Kshemavriddhi but only Vegavat dies the other escaped with a horse carrying him.
While Charudeshna (krishna's 3rd son) defeats a guy called "Vivindhya", but Pradyumna did not fight a single famed or named warrior/individual until he met Salva. Before that in this war specifically he didn't encounter a single relevant person.
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Here in Bhagavatam Pradyumna fought with a person whose name is "Dyuman".
CONTINUATION;
Quote;
After refreshing himself with water, putting on armor & picking up a bow Pradyumna said “Take me back to where the hero Dyumān is standing.” In Pradyumna’s absence, Dyumān had been devastating the army, but now Pradyumna counterattacked Dyumān and, smiling, pierced him with eight nārāca arrows. With four of these arrows He struck Dyumān’s four horses, with one arrow, his driver, with two more arrows, his bow and chariot flag, and with the last arrow, Dyumān’s head.
{End}
Note - Pradyumna was able to unleash a volley of arrows in a fast rate which led to the death of a valiant hero like Dyuman. It was like a surprise attack though as Dyuman was not expecting a defeated enemy to return like this out of nowhere, without alerting his opponent Pradyumna targeted him.
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Length of the war:
"Gada, Sātyaki, Sāmba and others began killing Śālva’s army, and thus all the soldiers inside the airship began falling into the ocean, their necks severed. As the Yadus and Śālva’s followers thus went on attacking one another, the tumultuous, fearsome battle continued for twenty-seven days & nights."
Note; so it lasted for 648 hour's (27 days/nights). Their were multiple nocturnal battles too that are not elaborated upon or explained in much detail but all of this means during night when asuras/danavas are amplified then the yadavas were able to still fight back against all of them very well.
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Invited by Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Dharma, Lord Kṛṣṇa had gone to Indraprastha. Now that the Rājasūya sacrifice had been completed & Śiśupāla killed, the Lord began to see inauspicious omens. So He took leave of the Kuru elders & the great sages and returned to Dvārakā. The Lord said to Himself: Because I have come here with My respected elder brother, kings partial to Śiśupāla may well be attacking My capital city. After He arrived at Dvārakā and saw how His people were threatened with destruction, and also saw Śālva and his Saubha airship, Lord Keśava arranged for the city’s defense and then addressed Dāruka as follows.
[End]
Logic - here it is mentioned in clear letters that Krishna's people were threatened with destruction meaning king Salva had the necessary ability to defeat yadavas like akroor, pradyumna, samba. But most likely not Satyaki (at least not according to Mahabharat).
Krishna's campaign.
"O driver, quickly take My chariot near Śālva. This lord of Saubha is a powerful magician don’t let him bewilder you." Thus ordered, Dāruka took command of the Lord’s chariot and drove forth. As the chariot entered the battlefield, everyone their both friend and foe, caught sight of the emblem of Garuḍa. When Śālva, the master of a decimated army, saw Lord Kṛṣṇa approaching, he hurled his spear at the Lord’s charioteer. The spear roared frighteningly as it flew across the battlefield. Śālva’s hurtling spear lit up the whole sky like a mighty meteor, but Lord Śauri tore the great weapon into hundreds of pieces with His arrows. Lord Kṛṣṇa then pierced Śālva with sixteen arrows and struck the Saubha airship with a deluge of arrows as it darted about the sky. Śālva then managed to strike Lord Kṛṣṇa’s left arm, which held His bow Śārṅga, and, amazingly, Śārṅga fell from His hand. Those who witnessed this all cried out in dismay.
Exchange of dialogue.
Then the master of Saubha roared loudly & addressed Lord Janārdana "You fool! Because in our presence you kidnapped the bride of our friend Śiśupāla, your own cousin & because you later murdered him in the sacred assembly while he was inattentive, today with my sharp arrows I will send You to the land of no return! Though You think Yourself invincible, I will kill You now if You dare stand before me." Krishna said in reply "O dullard, you boast in vain, since you fail to see death standing near you. Real heroes do not talk much but rather show their prowess in action"
Having said this, the furious Lord swung His club with frightening power & speed & hit Śālva on the collarbone, making him tremble & vomit blood. But as soon as Lord Acyuta withdrew his club, Śālva disappeared from sight & a moment later a man approached the Lord.
Trick of Śālva;
Bowing his head down to him he announced “Devakī has sent me” and sobbing spoke the following words "O Kṛṣṇa mighty-armed one, who are so affectionate to Your parents! Śālva has seized Your father & taken him away, as a butcher leads an animal to slaughter. When He heard this disturbing news Kṛṣṇa who was playing the role of a mortal man, showed sorrow compassion & out of love for his parents he spoke the following words like an ordinary conditioned soul "Balarāma is ever vigilant, and no demigod or demon can defeat him. So how could this insignificant Śālva defeat him & abduct my father? Indeed, fate is all-powerful!" After Govinda spoke these words, the master of Saubha again appeared, apparently leading Vasudeva before the Lord. Śālva then spoke "Here is your dear father, who begot you & for whose sake you are living in this world. I shall now kill him before your eyes. Save him if you can weakling!" After he had mocked the Lord in this way, the wizard Śālva appeared to behead Vasudeva with a sword. Taking the head with him, he entered the Saubha vehicle, which was hovering in the sky. By nature Lord Kṛṣṇa is full in knowledge & he possesses unlimited powers of perception. Yet for a moment, out of great affection for His loved ones he remained absorbed in the mood of an ordinary human being. He soon recalled, however, that this was a demoniac illusion engineered by Maya Dānava & employed by Śālva.
"Now alert to the actual situation, Lord Acyuta saw before him on the battlefield neither the messenger nor his father’s body. It was as if he had awakened from a dream. Seeing his enemy flying above him in his Soubha plane, the Lord prepared to kill him."
"While Śālva continued to hurl torrents of weapons at him with great force, Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose prowess never fails, shot arrows at Śālva, wounding him & shattering his armor, bow & crest jewel. Then with a club the Lord smashed Śālva's Saubha airship. Shattered into thousands of pieces by Lord Kṛṣṇa’s club, the Saubha airship plummeted into the water. Śālva abandoned it, stationed himself on the ground, took up his club & rushed toward Lord Acyuta."
"As Śālva rushed at Him, Krsna shot a bhalla dart cutting Śālva's arm that held the club. Deciding to kill him Kṛṣṇa raised the Sudarśana disc weapon, which resembled the sun at the time of universal annihilation. Employing his discus Lord Hari removed that great magician’s head with it's earrings & crown."
[End]
Seeing this, all of Śālva’s followers cried out, “Alas, alas!” With the sinful Śālva now dead and his Saubha airship destroyed, the heavens resounded with kettledrums played by groups of demigods.
DIFFERENCES;
In Mahabharat Krishna uses either sudarshan chakra or a nameless astra missile to destroy Soubha (name for Salwa's big sized vehicle) and in Bhagawatam he uses a club (most likely "Koumadaki") to destroy the city/chariot. In both variant's the sudarshan chakra was the weapon that decapitates king Salva.
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