Shloka 29
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
न चापि गमने शक्ति काज्चित् पश्यामि चिन्तयन् । सो<5स्मि नेय: सदा तात नदीकूलमित:ः परम्
na cāpi gamane śaktiṃ kāñcit paśyāmi cintayan | so 'smi neyaḥ sadā tāta nadīkūlam itaḥ param ||
ভাবলেও নিজের মধ্যে চলার কোনো শক্তি আমি দেখি না। অতএব, বৎস! আমাকে সর্বদা নিয়ে যেতে হবে—এখান থেকে নদীর অপর তট পর্যন্ত।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic ethic of care: when someone becomes weak or incapacitated, it becomes righteous for the able person—addressed here as “tāta”—to provide steady assistance. It also underscores humility in acknowledging one’s limits.
A speaker (reported by Sanjaya) states that he has no strength to walk even after trying to assess himself, and therefore instructs the addressed person to lead/carry him regularly from their current place to the riverbank on the farther side.