Shloka 38
Adhyāya 160: Arjuna’s Envoy-Message—Critique of Borrowed Valor and Pre-dawn Mobilization
संयुगं गच्छ भीष्मेण भिन्धि वा शिरसा गिरिम् | तरेम॑ वा महागाध॑ बाहुभ्यां पुरुषोदधिम्,“तुम भीष्मके साथ युद्ध करो या सिरसे पहाड़ फोड़ो या सैनिकोंके अत्यन्त गहरे महासागरको दोनों बाँहोंसे तैरकर पार करो
saṁyugaṁ gaccha bhīṣmeṇa bhindhi vā śirasā girim | tarema vā mahāgādhaṁ bāhubhyāṁ puruṣodadhim |
ভীষ্মের সঙ্গে যুদ্ধে নামো; অথবা মাথা দিয়ে পর্বত চূর্ণ করো; কিংবা দুই বাহুতে সাঁতরে সেই অতল ‘পুরুষ-সমুদ্র’—যোদ্ধাদের মহাসাগর—পার হয়ে যাও।
उलूक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates coercive rhetoric in a dharma-crisis: by framing refusal as equivalent to absurd impossibilities, the speaker tries to force a warrior’s choice toward battle, showing how honor-language can be used to intensify violence and narrow moral options.
Ulūka, acting as a messenger in the tense pre-war negotiations, delivers a provocative challenge: either confront Bhīṣma in battle or accomplish impossible feats—thereby mocking hesitation and pushing the situation toward open war.