Shalya and his conundrum

Of all the twists and turns of Mahabharat, the most interesting perhaps is the role of Shalya in the war. Shalya was the King of Madra and the brother of Madri. That made him the maternal uncle of Nakul and Sahadev. So naturally, he was supposed to join the war on the side of Pandavas. But that did not happen.

While Shalya approached towards Kurukshetra before the start of war with his army, Duryodhan hijacked his loyalty with a cunning ploy. He created a big pavilion for him to rest and relax with the best facilities but without giving him any hint who the host was. Shalya mistakenly enjoyed the hospitality thinking it was from Yudhisthir but later realised his folly. But by then he had made an open promise of joining the war on the side of his host whoever it was. Thus, he was already compromised in joining the Kauravas by giving his word.

Sahadev and Nakul were very angry with their uncle and took it as a very mean act of sowing discord in Pandava ranks. But Shalya met Yudhisthir and asked for his forgiveness. Yudhisthir understood his predicament and assured him that he held no grudge against him. While Shalya blessed Yudhisthir and wished him victory, he promised to help the Pandavas indirectly in the war to the best extent possible.

By the end of the 15th day of the war, the Kauravas had already lost Bhisma and Drona. Karna was their next commander. He fought valiantly and created mayhem in the Pandava ranks but still could not face Arjun. On the morning of the 17th day, he approached Duryodhana with the request to assign Shalya as his charioteer to counter the effect of Krishna in the same role with Arjun in the opposite camp. This was otherwise a good idea as besides being a great warrior, Shalya was considered to be a genius with handling horses and animals, just like, if not better, than Krishna. Duryodhana took it upon himself to convince Shalya about this.

Shalya was at first vehemently opposed to the plan as he thought it to be below his dignity to be subordinated by Karna, whom he derided as being Sutaputra (Son of the Horseman). But the cunning Duryodhan praised him very highly to satisfy his ego and begged for his help. Shalya agreed to be the driver of the chariot but made his terms and conditions very clear. He insisted on being independent to speak as he wished without being bound by any protocol and not take part in the fights to help Karna physically except driving the chariot. Both Duryodhan and Karna agreed to this , thinking it to be of no real consequence.

This was the chance Shalya got to repay his emotional debt to the Pandavas. Throughout the day's war, he went on disturbing Karna by demotivating him with praises of Arjun and the Pandavas. Karna was enraged but he could not nothing with the indiscipline of his driver. This created many doubts in his mind. When the wheels of his chariot got stuck in the ground , even then Shalya did nothing to help him. Thus, he paved way for the cursed prophecy on Karna to be fulfilled and contributed to his demise.

Bound by his Vachan(promise) made to Kunti, his real mother, Karna had spared the lives of the four Pandavas even after he had them at his mercy in the battlefield. They included Nakul and Sahadev, nephews of Shalya. For this Shalya also had a soft corner for Karna. And, like everyone he too was aghast by the way Arjun killed unarmed Karna at the behest of Krishna in an unfair manner. He promised the dying man that he would avenge his death by killing Arjun and Krishna in the battle. This was another intriguing twist that we see in his character.

After Karna's death, Shalya was appointed as the commander of the Kaurava forces as advised by Ashwatthama to Duryodhan. He was a shrewd general and decided that with the depleted strength of the army on both sides it would be better to take on all the Pandavas at the same time and kill them together instead of personal duels. Accordingly, he placed all his best warriors in the middle and attacked the Pandavas. He created havoc on the battlefield with his prowess and defeated the Pandava stalwarts one by one. Shalya was said to have received a boon from Lord Shiva that in battles his opponent would lose power if they got angry. Therefore, by Krishna's advice, the calm headed Yudhisthir took on Shalya and killed him with his favourite weapon - the spear.

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