Shloka 1
उलूकदूतवाक्यम् / Ulūka’s Message to the Pāṇḍavas
ऑपनआक्राता छा अकाल अष्टपञ्चाशर्दाधिकशततमो« ध्याय: रुक्मीका सहायता देनेके लिये आना; परंतु पाण्डव और कौरव दोनों पक्षोंके द्वारा कोरा उत्तर पाकर लौट जाना वैशम्पायन उवाच एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु भीष्मकस्य महात्मन: । हिरण्यरोम्णो नृपते: साक्षादिन्द्रसखस्य वै
vaiśampāyana uvāca | etasminn eva kāle tu bhīṣmakasya mahātmanaḥ | hiraṇyaromṇo nṛpateḥ sākṣād indrasakhasya vai |
वैशम्पायन बोले—जनमेजय! उसी समय महात्मा भीष्मक के यहाँ से, इन्द्र के सखा तथा हिरण्यरोमा नाम से प्रसिद्ध वह नरेश (घटनाक्रम में) उपस्थित हुआ।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how decisive moments in dharma-and-war narratives often hinge on timely arrivals of powerful allies; prestige (being ‘Indra’s friend’) signals moral and political weight, yet such weight must still be tested by the choices of the parties involved.
Vaiśampāyana introduces a new figure entering the story at a critical juncture: the noble king Bhīṣmaka, also called Hiraṇyaroman, famed as a companion of Indra—setting up an episode of attempted assistance/mediation connected with the impending conflict.