Shalya Parva

Kannada translation

09_ShalyaParva_19 May 2021

Structure

The Shalya Parva (Sanskrit: शल्य पर्व), or the Book of Shalya, is the ninth of eighteen books of Mahabharata. Shalya Parva describes the appointment of Shalya as the fourth commander-in-chief of the Kaurava alliance, on the 18th day of the Kurukshetra War. The Parva recites Salya's death, how Duryodhana becomes mortally wounded and out of the entire Kaurava army, only 3 survive. Shalya Parva also describes how Pandavas and Krishna are victorious in the war, but lament the enormous toll of the 18-day war on human lives on both sides. The book mentions the anger and hatred among survivors on the Kauravas side, particularly Duryodhana, Ashvatthama, Kritavarma and Kripa.

According to the Critical Edition, this Parva (Book) has a total of 3315 Shlokas (Verses) organized into 64 Adhyayas (Chapters) rolled into 4 Upa Parvas (Sections). The Upa Parvas are:

Shalyavadha Parva (16 Adhyayas 1-16; 844 Shlokas)
Hridapravesha Parva (12 Adhyayas 17-28; 664 Shlokas)
Saraswata Parva (25 Adhyayas 29-53; 1261 Shlokas)
Gadayuddha Parva (11 Adhyayas 54-64; 556 Shlokas)

Summary

After three commander-in-chiefs of Kauravas army slain, Shalya is appointed the leader. He too is killed, as is Shakuni. Millions more soldiers die on the last day of war. Duryodhana in anguish leaves the battlefield, and goes to a lake. Bhima meets him there, challenges him to a battle. Bhima mortally wounds Duryodhana by crushing his thighs.

Out of 11 Akshauhinis of the Kauravas, only survivors are mortally injured Duryodhana along with Aswatthama, Kritavarman and Kripa. From Pandavas army, all five brothers, Krishna, 2000 chariots, 700 elephants, 5000 horsemen and 10000 foot soldiers survive. Shalya parva describes the war as over with a heavy toll on human lives, Pandavas are victorious, yet a desire for revenge is brewing in Duryodhana, Ashwatthama, Kritavarma and Kripa.

Episodes

I have divided the Shalya Parva into the following 8 Main Episodes, i.e., main events related to the "story" of Mahabharata. You can study these narrations of the main story (an edited version of English translation of Mahabharata by Kisari Mohan Ganguli) by clicking on the links:

The eighteenth day war – 1: Shalya is the Kuru general
The eighteenth day war – 2: The killing of Shalya
The eighteenth day war – 3: Duryodhana retreats
The eighteenth day war – 4: The killing of Duryodhana
The eighteenth day war – 5: Ashvatthama is Kuru general

Following are the Shalya Parva Episodes based on my Kannada Translation of Mahabharata:

Stories

Apart from narrating the Main Story, the Shalya Parva also provides a large number of Upakhyanas or side-stories narrated by Vaishampayana to Janamejaya, when the latter asks questions about the pilgrimage that Balaram undertook during the Mahabharata war. The following are the Upakhyanas or side-stories that are found in Shalya Parva. You can study these narrations of the main story (an edited version of English translation of Mahabharata by Kisari Mohan Ganguli) by clicking on the links: