He considers himself as the student of Arjuna and was devoted to Krishna. Hello! They could have defeated the Pandavas easily, But in that case, all Kshatriyas would not perish. These are some practical reasons why Kauravas lost the war. When war was declared between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, Shalya naturally planned to support his nephews against their cousins. The Kauravas are the 100 sons of the King of Hastinapur, Dhritarashtra, and his wife Gandhari who played a significant role in the legendary Indian epic, the Mahabharata.Hastinapur is assumed to be the current modern state of Haryana, and Gandhar, to where Gandhari belonged, is assumed to be the current city of Kandahar in Afghanistan. He is sometimes considered to be the main antagonist of the Mahabharata. Satyaki. Unable to turn down Duryodhana's request to join the Kauravas, Shalya met Yudhisthira and apologized for his mistake. Anyhow, Shalya assured the Pandavas that he would do everything possible to demoralise Karna and dampen his spirits.'''' Then the war started and after many days (16 days to be exact) Shalya served as the charioteer for Karna. Firstly,coming to kauravas the kingdoms are Hasthinapura Pragjyotisha Kalinga Anga Kekaya Sindhudesa Avanti in Madhyadesa Gandharas Bahlikas Mahishmati Kambojas (with the Yavanas, Sakas, Trilinga, Tusharas) and many others The commanders of Kaurava side are Bhishma Drona … The Pandavas - Yudhistira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva - are the central characters in the most applauded epic in Hinduism, the Mahabharata. Karna was better than Shalya. A righteous Kaurava, he chose to play it smart… Image source. Answer Podcast Transcription by– Keshavgopal Das & Ambuj Gupta Question: If morality is contextual not categorical then why did Bhishma fight on side of the Kauravas? What was his role? Learn the real truth behind this story. Barely made it. 3 0. naray anan. The Kurukshetra war is estimated to have been fought by 3.94 million warriors. Balarama refused to fight on either side. MUST READ: Why Pandavas went to Hell and Kauravas to Heaven? The Kauravas were 100 brothers. Yudhishtira, knowing that Shalya was a great charioteer and forecasting that Shalya would someday be asked to be the charioteer of Karna, extracted a vow from Shalya to the effect that Shalya will demoralise Karna and dampen his spirits. Shalya was an incredibly calm and deliberate fighter, which why he was such a good charioteer and why he could excel at mace-fighting despite his unimposing bulk. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. It is still unclear as to why Yudhishtira did so. After Krishna's mission to bring peace between Pandavas and the Kauravas failed, the two sides called in … This mythology will shock you. Before the war, both Arjun and Duryodhan had gone to Krishna asking for help. 4. Many other tribes joined the Kauravas because they joined. His sister Madri, was married to King Pandu, but committed sati after Pandu's death. Anga supported the Kauravas in the Great War. Yudhisthir killed Shalya. He was the king of the Gandhara kingdom. Shalya was the king of Madra. Krishna remained in the weaker side (in the Pandava side) to make both parties equally strong. Yuyutsu realized that the Kauravas were … on November 20, 2017. Her twin sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, were the youngest Pandavas. In Episode 18 of my Mahabharata short stories, we meet Prince Shalya of Madra. Pandavas were the five powerful and skilled sons of Pandu, the King of Hastinapur and his two wives Kunti and Madri. He must understand that Mahabharata retelling does not mean creating his own Harry Potter version. In his watch, Duryodhan is finally killed.” The author has a track record of twisting Vyasa’s narration and replacing it with his own version. Karna's story would be incomplete without mentioning Shalya. parācyāśa ca dākṣiṇātyāśa ca paravīrā gajayodhinaḥ | Aṅgā vaṅgāśa ca puṇḍrāśa ca māgadhāsa tāmraliptakāḥ (VIII. Lord Krishna had helped the Kauravas in Mahabharat war - 1. The Narration of the Kurukshetra War. Gandhara- Their king Shakuni was the 100 brothers’ uncle and the main plotter of the schemes of the Kauravas. Shakuni, also lesser-known as Saubala, was the prince of the Gandhara Kingdom, which is the present-day Kandahar in Afghanistan. Out of them only two became famous, Duryodhana and Dushasana," Sinha said, leaving the audience in splits. Others like Shalya, though related to the Pandavas, are tricked into helping the Kauravas. After the war ended, Pandavas ruled over Hastinapur for over 36 years. The author asserts – “Shalya was the last commander of the Kauravas. He also fought on the side of the Pandavas, apart from the fact that Yadava army is promised to Kauravas by Krishna. Just 12, in fact. Not every leader thinks the same way. Pandu, who killed Sage Kindama and his wife during a hunt, fell under a curse. The story of Shalya discouraging Karna is discussed here and here. Eleven battalions fought on side of Kauravas, seven on side of Pandavas. Shalya was supposed to fight for Pandavas, but was tricked by Duryodhana (who offered his troops food in exchange for a boon) into fighting for the Kauravas. Brother of Gandhari, who hated Bheeshma for making his sister marry Dhritarashtra, who was blind. And Drona is … Why was he not part of the Kauravas?" He is famed for being one of the pivotal negative characters of the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata – a villain, who is believed to have veritably changed the landscape of the epic. Answer: Mahabharata is understood at two different levels. Here is a side story of Shalya. Shalya, being a skilled archer,a powerful mace fighter and formidable warrior, was tricked by Duryodana to fight the war on the side of the Kauravas. Andhaka (andhaka) - A branch of the Yadava confederacy, headed by Krtavarma. Pandavas also had flaws from their side, but cumulatively, Pandavas’ side acted more pro-actively. His sister was Madri, the beautiful second wife of Pandu, and mother of Nakula and Sahadeva. , Dharmaja killed Salya By noon time. Shalya, a powerful Spear fighter and a formidable charioteer, was tricked by Duryodhana to fight the war on the side of the Kauravas. Shalya was an incredibly calm and deliberate fighter, which is why he made a good charioteer and why he could excel at mace-fighting despite his slight build. 17.2) 2. One was Abhimanyu’s brother-in-law Uttar. Shalya confronted many great warriors and killed them. Today I'm going to share the kings and kingdoms whom they supported and participated in War. Shalya served as Karna's charioteer during … Yuyutsu Kauravas’ step-brother. They alone sided with the Kauravas … Pragjyotisha- Their king Bhagdatta was an ally of the Kauravas. Shalya was the king of Madra (today's Sialkot region) and maternal uncle of two Pandavas- Nakul and Sahdev. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article. If you can recollect about the vow that Bhishma took for his father, he also mentions in his vow that he will always serve the king of Hastinapura whom ever it may be. Sanjaya narrates each incident of the Kurukshetra War, fought in 18 days, as and when it happened. It is still unclear as to why Yudhishtira did so. ''' Shalya reluctantly entered the Kurukshetra war on the Kauravas side. In the Mahabharata, the actions and … So according to that he’s actually fighting for king Dhritharashtra and hence is forced to support Duryodhana. Shalya was the second to last Kaurava commander-in-chief and after his death, the Kauravas were left leaderless and broke ranks fleeing from the slaughter despite Duryodhana's best efforts.) Satyaki belongs to the Vrishi clan of Yadavas, to which Krishna also belongs. His sister, Madri, weds King Pandu of Kuru Pradesh. When the leaders change, the strategies change. This son of Dhritarashtra is crucial to the plot because he was the only Kaurava who survived the war. Years later, Pandu died when he ignored the curse and… 4. Shalya means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi, Hindi. Hastinapur is equated with the current modern Indian state of Haryana, south of New Delhi. There is a common debate that why Kauravas instead of their bad deeds went to (heaven) and Pandavas went to hell? Anyway, Shalya assured the Pandavas that he would do everything possible to demoralise Karna and dampen his spirits. The kauravas tricked shalya into joining them and his honour did not allow him to break his promise. Madra- Their king Shalya was siding with the Pandavas, but was tricked into fighting with the Kauravas. - "Why did Lord Krishna support the Pandavas? Karna as always was blunt and insulted Shalya which lead to a rocky relationship between the two. Shalya, the king of Madra and the brother of Madri, was the maternal uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva, the Pandava twins. Shalya reluctantly entered the Kurukshetra war on the Kauravas' side. He was born at the same time as Duryodhan to Gandhari’s lady-in-waiting. Why did Krishna support the Pandavas? When war was declared between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, Shalya naturally planned to support his nephews against their cousins. When the Kauravas refused to part with Pandava land, and war was declared, the kings of India took sides. Jaya, the core of Mahabharata, is structured in the form of a dialogue between the King Dhritarashtra (who was born blind) and Sanjaya (having a divine vision), his advisor, and chariot driver. 18th day war of Kurukshetra . According to some folk versions, he was also angry at Dhritarashtra for imprisoning and killing his 100 Brothers. The Mahabharata tells us the stroy of Shalya, whose sister, Madri, was the second wife of Pandu. One is the karma kanda level and other is the pure devotional level. The number of survivors from the Mahabharat were relatively small. Kauravas were stronger ( Karna, Bhishma and many more powerful warriors had supported Kaurava). Still others like Yuyutsu change sides and prefer to fight on the side of the Kauravas.There are long conversations on what is right, what should matter to kings,on the value of … … Kauravas were stronger ( Karna, Bhishma and many more powerful warriors had supported Kaurava ) by! 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