Shloka 34
उलूकदूतवाक्यम् / Ulūka’s Message to the Pāṇḍavas
कथमस्मद्विधो ब्रूयाद् भीतो5स्मीति यशोहरम् । वचन नरशार्दूल वज्जायुधमपि स्वयम्
katham asmad-vidho brūyād bhīto 'smīti yaśo-haram | vacanaṁ nara-śārdūla vajrāyudham api svayam ||
નરશાર્દૂલ! મારા જેવો પુરુષ ‘હું ડરું છું’ એવું યશ હરણ કરનાર વચન કેવી રીતે બોલી શકે? તે પણ સ્વયં વજ્રાયુધધારી ઇન્દ્રની સામે!
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A warrior’s public speech must align with dharma and honor: admitting fear in a way that undermines courage and reputation is portrayed as ethically and socially corrosive, especially for one who has prepared through discipline, devotion, and mastery of arms.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war context, the speaker (as reported by Vaiśampāyana) voices a heroic resolve: having worshipped major deities and revered teachers, and possessing the divine Gāṇḍīva with inexhaustible arrows and knowledge of celestial weapons, he insists he cannot utter “I am afraid,” even before Indra himself.