Shloka 1
Ulūka’s Provocative Envoy-Speech in the Pāṇḍava Camp
Ulūka-dūta-vākya
[दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठका इ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ४० ३ “लोक हैं] ४-32 श््यु हि कम एकोनषष्टर्याधेकशततमो< ध्याय: धृतराष्ट्र और संजयका संवाद जनमेजय उवाच तथा व्यूढेष्वनीकेषु कुरुक्षेत्रे द्विजर्षभ । किमकुर्वश्न॒ कुरव: कालेनाभिप्रचोदिता:
Janamejaya uvāca | tathā vyūḍheṣv anīkeṣu Kurukṣetre dvijarṣabha | kim akurvaṃś ca Kuravaḥ kālenābhipracoditāḥ ||
জনমেজয় বললেন—হে দ্বিজশ্রেষ্ঠ! এভাবে কুরুক্ষেত্রে সেনাবিন্যাস সম্পন্ন হলে, কালের প্রেরণায় কৌরবরা তখন কী করল?
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds kāla (Time/Destiny) as a compelling force that drives human actors toward conflict, inviting reflection on how agency, dharma, and inevitable consequence intertwine at the threshold of war.
In the frame dialogue, King Janamejaya asks the sage (addressed as dvijarṣabha) what the Kuru side did once the armies had been fully drawn up in formation on Kurukṣetra, marking the transition from preparation to imminent action.