Shloka 90
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
राष्ट्रान्निर्वासनक्लेशं वनवासं च पाण्डव | कृष्णायाश्व परिक्लेशं संस्मरन् पुरुषो भव,'पाण्डुनन्दन! राज्यसे निर्वासनका, वनवासका और द्रौपदीके अपमानका क्लेश याद करके तो मर्द बनो
sañjaya uvāca | rāṣṭrān nirvāsana-kleśaṁ vanavāsaṁ ca pāṇḍava | kṛṣṇāyāś ca parikleśaṁ saṁsmaran puruṣo bhava ||
Sañjaya said: “O son of Pāṇḍu, remember the anguish of being driven from the kingdom, the hardship of exile in the forest, and the suffering inflicted upon Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī). With these wrongs held in mind, be a man—stand firm in resolve and act in accordance with honor and duty (dharma).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse urges moral courage: recalling past injustices—banishment, forest exile, and Draupadī’s humiliation—should strengthen a kṣatriya’s resolve to uphold honor and dharma rather than lapse into weakness or indecision.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Sañjaya’s words function as a spur to the Pāṇḍavas: he invokes their history of suffering and Draupadī’s wrongs to press for firm, decisive action as the conflict with the Kauravas approaches.