Shloka 3
उत्तरोपदेशः
Uttara’s Fear and Arjuna’s Martial Reassertion
स्पृष्टवन्तं शरीरं मां शववाहमिवाशुचिम् । कथं वा व्यवहार्य वै कुर्वीथास्त्वं बृहन्नले,बृहन्नले! यदि मैं शवका स्पर्श कर लूँ, तो मुर्दा ढोनेवालोंकी भाँति अपवित्र हो जाऊँगा; फिर तुम मुझे व्यवहारमें लाने योग्य युद्ध कैसे कर सकोगी?
Uttara uvāca: spṛṣṭavantaṁ śarīraṁ māṁ śavavāham ivāśucim | kathaṁ vā vyavahāryaṁ vai kurvīthās tvaṁ bṛhannale bṛhannale ||
Uttara berkata: “Jika aku menyentuh mayat, aku akan menjadi najis—seperti mereka yang mengusung orang mati. Maka, wahai Bṛhannalā, bagaimana engkau dapat menjadikan aku layak bergaul dalam masyarakat dan layak untuk bertempur?”
उत्तर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between kṣatriya duty in crisis and prevailing norms of ritual purity: Uttara fears that contact with a corpse brings social and ritual defilement, making him unfit for public dealings and thus unfit to act as a warrior.
In the Virāṭa episode, Prince Uttara speaks to Bṛhannalā (Arjuna in disguise). As he is being urged toward battle, he raises an objection rooted in impurity: if he touches a dead body, he will become aśuci like a corpse-bearer, so he questions how Bṛhannalā could then prepare him for proper participation in war and society.