Shloka 11
Adhyāya 160: Arjuna’s Envoy-Message—Critique of Borrowed Valor and Pre-dawn Mobilization
लोहाभिसारो निर्वेत्त: कुरुक्षेत्रमकर्दमम् । सम: पन्था भृतास्तेश्वा: श्वो युध्यस्व सकेशव:,“लोहेके अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंकी बाहर निकालकर उन्हें तैयार करने आदिका कार्य पूरा हो गया है, कुरुक्षेत्रक्री कीचड़ सूख गयी है, मार्ग बराबर हो गया है और तुम्हारे अश्व भी खूब पले हुए हैं; अत: कल सबेरेसे ही श्रीकृष्णके साथ आकर युद्ध करो
ulūka uvāca | lohābhisāro nirvṛttaḥ kurukṣetram akardamam | samaḥ panthā bhṛtās te 'śvāḥ śvo yudhyasva sa-keśavaḥ |
Ulūka said: “The preparations of iron—arms and weapons—are complete; Kurukṣetra is free of mud; the road is level, and your horses are well-fed and strong. Therefore, come tomorrow at dawn and fight, with Keśava (Kṛṣṇa) at your side.”
उलूक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how deliberate preparation and strategic timing are used to compel action in war; ethically, it shows the rhetoric of provocation—pressing the opponent to fight immediately—highlighting the tension between duty (kṣatriya warfare) and the manipulative escalation that precedes violence.
Ulūka, acting as a messenger from the Kaurava side, taunts and summons the opposing party to come the next morning to Kurukṣetra for battle, emphasizing that weapons are ready, the ground has dried, the road is smooth, and the horses are well-fed—signaling full readiness for war.