Shloka 7
Ulūka’s Provocative Envoy-Speech in the Pāṇḍava Camp
Ulūka-dūta-vākya
एवं गते वै यद् भावि तद् भविष्यति संजय । क्षत्रधर्म: किल रणे तनुत्यागो हि पूजित:
evaṃ gate vai yad bhāvi tad bhaviṣyati saṃjaya | kṣatradharmaḥ kila raṇe tanutyāgo hi pūjitaḥ ||
संजय! अब बात यहाँ तक आ पहुँची है, तो जो होना है वही होकर रहेगा। कहते हैं कि रणभूमि में देह का त्याग—युद्ध में मृत्यु को स्वीकार करना—क्षत्रिय-धर्म में पूज्य माना गया है।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral-ethical stance typical of epic kṣatriya ideology: once events have reached an irreversible crisis, what is fated will unfold, and for a warrior the honored duty in battle is readiness to sacrifice one’s life rather than abandon the field or one’s obligation.
Vaiśampāyana addresses Saṃjaya, interpreting the situation as having reached a decisive point. He emphasizes inevitability (bhāvi/bhaviṣyati) and invokes the traditional norm that a kṣatriya’s proper conduct in war includes accepting death as an honored outcome.