Shloka 54
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
सभामध्ये च यद् रूपं मायया कृतवानसि । तत् तथैव पुनः कृत्वा सार्जुनो मामभिद्रव,“तुमने सभामें मायाद्वारा जो विकट रूप बना लिया था; उसे पुनः उसी रूपमें प्रकट करके अर्जुनके साथ मुझपर धावा बोल दो
sabhāmadhye ca yad rūpaṃ māyayā kṛtavān asi | tat tathaiva punaḥ kṛtvā sārjuno mām abhidrava ||
Sañjaya dit : «La forme terrifiante que tu as jadis prise au milieu de l’assemblée royale par le pouvoir de māyā—reprends-la telle quelle, et, avec Arjuna, fonce sur moi.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral ambiguity of employing māyā (deceptive or illusory power) in public and political arenas: what is displayed as ‘form’ can be manufactured, and such tactics can escalate hostility. It implicitly contrasts dharmic transparency with manipulative spectacle, especially as war approaches.
Sañjaya reports a taunting or challenging statement: someone is urged to recreate the same terrifying illusory form previously shown in the royal assembly and then, along with Arjuna, to charge at the speaker. The scene conveys rising aggression and the memory of an earlier court incident involving a frightening display.