Shloka 9
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
वासुदेवसहायस्य गर्जत: सानुजस्य ते । मध्ये कुरूणां कौन्तेय तस्य कालो5यमागत:
vāsudeva-sahāyasya garjataḥ sānujaśya te | madhye kurūṇāṃ kaunteya tasya kālo ’yam āgataḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai putera Kuntī, saat itu kini telah tiba—bagi sang pahlawan yang mengaum di medan perang, ditemani adik-adiknya, disokong oleh Vāsudeva—untuk berdiri di tengah-tengah kaum Kuru. Dengan Kṛṣṇa sebagai penolong, tibalah waktunya yang ditakdirkan untuk tindakan yang menentukan.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and spiritual idea that decisive action in a dharmic struggle requires both personal courage and right guidance; with Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) as support, the hero’s fateful moment (kāla) arrives, implying responsibility to act when the time for duty comes.
Sañjaya addresses a Kaunteya and points to a warrior—lion-roaring, accompanied by his younger brother(s), and aided by Vāsudeva—who is now poised amid the Kuru forces; the statement marks the arrival of the critical moment for confrontation.