Shloka 9
Ulūka’s Provocative Envoy-Speech in the Pāṇḍava Camp
Ulūka-dūta-vākya
शृणुष्वानवशेषेण वदतो मम पार्थिव । य आत्मनो दुश्चरितादशुभं प्राप्त॒ुयान्नर: । नस कालं न वा देवानेनसा गन्तुमहति
śṛṇuṣvānavaśeṣeṇa vadato mama pārthiva | ya ātmanaḥ duścaritād aśubhaṃ prāptuyān naraḥ | na sa kālaṃ na vā devān enasā gantum arhati, bhūpāla ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô roi, écoute-moi jusqu’au bout tandis que je parle. L’homme qui, par sa propre conduite mauvaise, en vient à un résultat néfaste n’a pas le droit d’accuser le Temps ni les dieux de sa faute, ô maître de la terre.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Misfortune arising from one’s own wrongdoing should not be blamed on Fate (kāla) or the gods; moral accountability rests with the agent whose conduct produced the result.
Sanjaya addresses the king (Dhritarashtra), urging him to listen carefully and emphasizing that the consequences of evil conduct are self-caused, not to be excused by attributing them to Time or divine forces.