Shloka 4
Ulūka’s Provocative Envoy-Speech in the Pāṇḍava Camp
Ulūka-dūta-vākya
दिष्टमेव परं मन्ये पौरुषं चाप्यनर्थकम् । यदहं बुद्ध्यमानो5पि युद्धदोषान् क्षयोदयान्,“मैं तो समझता हूँ” दैव ही प्रबल है। उसके सामने पुरुषार्थ व्यर्थ है; क्योंकि मैं युद्धके दोषोंको अच्छी तरह जानता हूँ। वे दोष भयंकर संहार उपस्थित करनेवाले हैं, इस बातको भी समझता हूँ, तथापि ठगवि द्याके पण्डित तथा कपटटद्यूत करनेवाले अपने पुत्रको न तो रोक सकता हूँ और न अपना हित-साधन ही कर सकता हूँ
vaiśampāyana uvāca | diṣṭam eva paraṁ manye pauruṣaṁ cāpy anarthakam | yad ahaṁ buddhyamāno 'pi yuddhadoṣān kṣayodayān |
“I deem fate alone to be supreme, and human effort, too, to be futile. For though I clearly understand the faults of war and the rise of ruin it brings, I still cannot restrain my own son—skilled in deceitful play and crooked dice—nor can I secure what is truly beneficial for myself.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts destiny (diṣṭa/daiva) with human effort (pauruṣa), portraying a moral paralysis: even with clear knowledge of war’s destructive consequences, the speaker feels unable to act rightly. It highlights the ethical danger of fatalism when it becomes an excuse for inaction and failure of responsibility.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, the speaker (in context, Dhṛtarāṣṭra as reported by Vaiśampāyana) laments that although he understands the grave evils of war, he cannot restrain his son—associated with deceit and crooked gambling—nor secure his own true welfare, foreshadowing the inevitability of conflict.