Shloka 10
Ulūka’s Provocative Envoy-Speech in the Pāṇḍava Camp
Ulūka-dūta-vākya
महाराज मनुष्येषु निन्द्यं यः सर्वमाचरेत् । स वध्य: सर्वलोकस्य निन्दितानि समाचरन्
mahārāja manuṣyeṣu nindyaṃ yaḥ sarvam ācaret | sa vadhyaḥ sarvalokasya ninditāni samācaran ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô roi, l’homme qui, dans ses rapports avec autrui, commet habituellement ce qui est entièrement blâmable—celui qui persiste dans une conduite honteuse—devient, aux yeux de tous, digne de châtiment (jusqu’à la mise à mort), car il vit d’actes condamnés par la société et par le dharma.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Persistent, universally blameworthy conduct toward others places a person outside the protection of dharma and social trust; such a wrongdoer is regarded by society as deserving severe punishment, because ethical life depends on restraining condemned actions.
Sañjaya addresses the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) and states a moral judgment about human conduct: one who continually behaves in a reprehensible way toward others becomes, in the eyes of all people, liable to harsh punishment—an ethical warning relevant to the escalating conflict in the Udyoga Parva.