The Book of Shalya or the Shalya Parva is another foremost section of the Great Indian Epic, the Mahabharat. This book narrates a major section of the battle at Kurukshetra. It has seventy four to seventy seven sub parvas wherein the last day of the battle with Shalya as commander is narrated. This ninth book among the 18 Parvas of Mahabrat also says in detail about the pilgrimage of Balarama to the fords of the river Saraswati and the mace fight between Bheema and Duryodhana which ends the war.
Shalya Parva represents that after all the great warriors had been slain; the king of Madra Shalya became the leader of the Kaurava army. The great Shalya met his end at the hands of Yudhishthira. In addition to that, in the Shalya Parva, the death of Sakuni in battle at the hands of Sahadeva is also described. In this Parva, the huge loss experienced in the battle field by the Kauravas is accurately described.
King Shalya was the ruler of Madra-desa or the kingdom of Madra. Shalya was a skilled archer and formidable warrior. Though the Pandavas had counted on Shalya joining their side with his huge army, Duryodhana tricked King Shalya. The great charioteer was asked by Yudhishtira to take a vow in turn so that he would do everything possible to demoralise Karna and dampen his spirits. Being a great warrior himself, Shalya confronted many great Warriors and killed them.
Shalya Parva deals with the fact when Duryodhana went to the lake and created space for himself within its waters in order to save himself from enraged Bhima. Then it is narrated how, moved by the insulting speeches of the intelligent Yudhishthira, Duryodhana ever unable to bear affronts came out of the waters. The encounter of clubs, between Duryodhana and Bhima; the arrival of Balarama at the moment of the encounter, the sacredness of River Saraswati and trounce of Duryodhana at the hands of Bhima have been wonderfully described in the ninth Parva. According to historical evidences this Shalya Parva consists of fifty-nine sections, three thousand two hundred and twenty slokas put forth by the great sage Veda Vyasa.
