Shloka 23
उलूकदूतवाक्यम् / Ulūka’s Message to the Pāṇḍavas
अपि द्रोणकृपौ वीरौ भीष्मकर्णावथो पुन: । अथवा सर्व एवैते तिष्ठन्तु वसुधाधिपा:
api droṇakṛpau vīrau bhīṣmakarṇāv atho punaḥ | athavā sarva evaite tiṣṭhantu vasudhādhipāḥ ||
“द्रोण और कृप—ये दोनों वीर—तथा फिर भीष्म और कर्ण भी (सामने) खड़े रहें; अथवा ये सब पृथ्वीपति राजा ही उपस्थित रहें।”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the weight of counsel and decision-making in times of crisis: when eminent elders and master-warriors are present, their standing (presence and authority) lends legitimacy and gravity to deliberations that will shape the course of war and dharma.
Vaiśampāyana narrates a moment of arranging or calling for the presence of leading Kuru-side figures—Droṇa, Kṛpa, Bhīṣma, and Karṇa—suggesting an assembly or formal setting where key rulers and commanders are to remain in place for consultation or decision.