Shloka 19
Adhyāya 160: Arjuna’s Envoy-Message—Critique of Borrowed Valor and Pre-dawn Mobilization
कथमाभ्यामभि ध्यात: संस्पृष्टो दारुणेन वा । रणे जीवन विमुच्येत पदा भूमिमुपस्पृशन्
katham ābhyām abhidyātaḥ saṁspṛṣṭo dāruṇena vā | raṇe jīvan vimucyeta padā bhūmim upaspṛśan ||
Ulūka mencabar: “Sesiapa yang telah ditetapkan mautnya oleh Bhīṣma dan Droṇa, atau yang di medan perang baru tersentuh senjata dahsyat mereka—bagaimana mungkin seorang insan yang masih menjejak bumi dapat lolos hidup?”
उलूक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial reputation and fear can be used as moral-political leverage: by portraying Bhīṣma and Droṇa as inescapable forces, Ulūka frames resistance as futile, aiming to coerce submission rather than invite a dharmic resolution.
Ulūka is delivering a taunting, confidence-building message on behalf of the Kaurava side, asserting that anyone targeted by Bhīṣma and Droṇa—or even grazed by their weapons—cannot survive the battlefield.