Shloka 102
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
कि दर्दुर: कूपशयो यथेमां न बुध्यसे राजचमूं समेताम् । दुराधर्षा देवचमूप्रकाशां गुप्तां नरेन्द्रैस्त्रिदशैरिव द्याम्ू
ki darduraḥ kūpaśayaḥ yathemāṃ na budhyase rājacamūṃ sametām | durādharṣā devacamūprakāśāṃ guptāṃ narendrais tridāśair iva dyām ||
Sanjaya berkata: “Mengapa engkau, seperti katak yang tinggal di sumur, tidak memahami bala tentara raja-raja yang telah berhimpun ini? Ia sukar diserang, cemerlang laksana pasukan para dewa, dan dijaga oleh para raja—sebagaimana surga dijaga oleh para dewa Tiga Puluh Tiga.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns against narrow, provincial judgment (“frog in a well” mentality). Ethical discernment in politics and war requires seeing the true scale of forces and alliances rather than clinging to limited personal assumptions.
Sañjaya rebukes his addressee for underestimating the assembled Kaurava host, describing it as formidable and divinely radiant, protected like heaven by the gods—emphasizing the vastness and strength of the coalition.