Shloka 12
Adhyāya 160: Arjuna’s Envoy-Message—Critique of Borrowed Valor and Pre-dawn Mobilization
असमागम्य भीष्मेण संयुगे कि विकत्थसे । आरुरुक्षुर्यथा मन्द: पर्वतं गन्धमादनम्
asamāgamya bhīṣmeṇa saṁyuge kiṁ vikatthase | ārurukṣur yathā mandaḥ parvataṁ gandhamādanam ||
Ulūka sprach: „Ohne Bhīṣma im Kampf auch nur begegnet zu sein — warum prahlst du? Du bist wie ein Tölpel, der den Gandhamādana-Berg erklimmen will.“
उलूक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Empty boasting without proven capability is ethically blameworthy and strategically foolish; true valor is demonstrated through deeds, especially when facing a formidable elder-warrior like Bhīṣma.
Ulūka delivers a taunting rebuke, mocking the addressee’s pride by pointing out that he has not yet faced Bhīṣma in actual combat, and compares his bravado to a foolish person attempting the near-impossible climb of Mount Gandhamādana.