Shloka 29
Adhyāya 160: Arjuna’s Envoy-Message—Critique of Borrowed Valor and Pre-dawn Mobilization
क्व तदा गाण्डिवं ते5भूद् यत् त्वं दास पणैर्जित: । क्व तदा भीमसेनस्य बलमासीच्च फाल्गुन,“दास अर्जुन! जब तुमलोग जूएके दाँवपर जीत लिये गये, उस समय तुम्हारा गाण्डीव धनुष कहाँ था? भीमसेनका बल भी उस समय कहाँ चला गया था?
kva tadā gāṇḍīvaṃ te ’bhūd yat tvaṃ dāsa-paṇair jitaḥ | kva tadā bhīmasenasya balam āsīc ca phālguna ||
Ulūka said: “Where then was your Gāṇḍīva bow, when you were won at the gambling-stake like a slave? And where, O Phālguna, was Bhīmasena’s strength at that time?”
उलूक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how external power—weapons, fame, physical strength—can be rendered ineffective when one is trapped by moral lapse and poor judgment (as in the dice-game). It underscores the ethical lesson that self-control and discernment are essential to uphold kṣatriya dignity and dharma.
Ulūka, speaking for the Kaurava side, delivers a provocative message to inflame the Pāṇḍavas. He mocks Arjuna and Bhīma by recalling the dice-hall episode where the Pāṇḍavas were ‘won’ by wagers, questioning where their celebrated bow and strength were then.