Shloka 58
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
मनसैव हि भूतानि धातैव कुरुते वशे । यद् ब्रवीषि च वार्ष्णेय धार्तराष्ट्रानहं रणे,“एकमात्र विधाता ही अपने मानसिक संकल्पमात्रसे समस्त प्राणियोंको वशमें कर लेता है। वार्ष्णेय! तुम जो यह कहा करते थे कि मैं युद्धमें धृतराष्ट्रके सभी पुत्रोंकोी मरवाकर उनका सारा उत्तम राज्य कुन्तीके पुत्रोंको दे दूँगा। तुम्हारा वह सारा भाषण संजयने मुझे सुना दिया था
manasaiva hi bhūtāni dhātāiva kurute vaśe | yad bravīṣi ca vārṣṇeya dhārtarāṣṭrān ahaṃ raṇe |
Sañjaya said: “Indeed, the Disposer (the divine Ordainer) brings all beings under control by the mind alone. And, O Vārṣṇeya, as for what you used to declare—‘In battle I shall cause the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra to be slain and hand over their entire excellent kingdom to Kuntī’s sons’—that whole speech Sañjaya had recited to me.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses the supremacy of the ‘Dhātā’—the cosmic Ordainer—who can subdue all beings through mere mental resolve, implying that human boasts and plans (even about war and sovereignty) remain subordinate to a higher ordering power.
Sañjaya reports a recollection addressed to Kṛṣṇa (Vārṣṇeya): earlier declarations about destroying the Dhārtarāṣṭras in war and transferring their kingdom to Kuntī’s sons are being cited, framed by the idea that outcomes ultimately lie under the control of the divine Ordainer.