Shloka 15
Ulūka’s Provocative Envoy-Speech in the Pāṇḍava Camp
Ulūka-dūta-vākya
केचिदीश्वरनिर्दिष्टा: केचिदेव यदृच्छया । पूर्वकर्मभिरप्यन्ये त्रैधमेतत् प्रदृश्यते । तस्मादनर्थमापतन्न: स्थिरो भूत्वा निशामय,कोई ईश्वरकी प्रेरणासे कार्य करते हैं, कुछ लोग आकस्मिक संयोगवश कर्मामें प्रवृत्त होते हैं तथा दूसरे बहुत-से लोग अपने पूर्वकर्मोंकी प्रेरणासे कार्य करते हैं। इस प्रकार ये कार्यकी त्रिविध अवस्थाएँ देखी जाती हैं, इसलिये इस महान् संकटमें पड़कर आप स्थिरभावसे (स्वस्थ चित्त होकर) सारा वृत्तान्त सुनिये
ke cid īśvara-nirdiṣṭāḥ ke cid eva yadṛcchayā | pūrva-karmabhir apy anye traidham etat pradṛśyate | tasmād anartham āpatannaḥ sthiro bhūtvā niśāmaya ||
Sañjaya said: “Some act under the direction of the Lord; some act by sheer chance; and many others act under the impulse of their former deeds. Thus, this threefold pattern of human action is seen. Therefore, now that we have fallen into this grave calamity, be steady—listen with a composed mind to the whole account.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a threefold explanation for why people act: divine prompting (īśvara-nirdiṣṭa), accidental circumstance (yadṛcchā), and the momentum of past deeds (pūrva-karma). Ethically, it urges steadiness of mind in crisis and careful listening before judgment—recognizing that agency can be complex and not reducible to a single cause.
Sañjaya, as the narrator-messenger, prepares his listener to hear a difficult report. Before recounting events, he frames the unfolding calamity as arising through different causal modes (divine, chance, karmic), and he counsels composure—‘be steady and listen’—so the account can be received with clarity rather than agitation.