Shloka 13
Adhyāya 160: Arjuna’s Envoy-Message—Critique of Borrowed Valor and Pre-dawn Mobilization
सूतपुत्र॑ सदुर्धर्ष शल्यं च बलिनां वरम्,'पार्थ! अत्यन्त दुर्जय वीर सूतपुत्र कर्ण, बलवानोंमें श्रेष्ठ शल्य तथा युद्धमें शचीपति इन्द्रके समान पराक्रमी महाबली द्रोणको युद्धमें जीते बिना तुम यहाँ राज्य कैसे लेना चाहते हो?
Sūtaputraḥ sa durdharṣaḥ Śalyaṁ ca balināṁ varam, Pārtha! atyanta-durjayaṁ vīra sūtaputraṁ Karṇaṁ, balavatāṁ-śreṣṭhaṁ Śalyaṁ tathā yuddhe Śacīpati-Indra-sadṛśa-parākramī mahābalī Droṇaṁ ca yuddhe jitvā vinā tvaṁ iha rājyaṁ kathaṁ grahītuṁ icchasi?
Ulūka dijo: «¡Oh Pārtha! ¿Cómo esperas tomar aquí el reino sin antes vencer en batalla a Karṇa, el invencible hijo del auriga; a Śalya, el primero entre los poderosos; y al gran Droṇa, cuyo brío en la guerra es como el de Indra, señor de Śacī?»
उलूक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames royal legitimacy in a kṣatriya context: sovereignty is not merely claimed but must be secured against formidable opponents through valor and victory. It also exposes the ethical tension between rightful claim and the violent means by which political order is decided in epic warfare.
Ulūka, speaking for the Kaurava side, taunts and challenges the Pāṇḍavas (addressing Pārtha) by naming Kaurava champions—Karṇa, Śalya, and Droṇa—and argues that the Pāṇḍavas cannot hope to take the kingdom unless they first defeat these warriors in battle.