Shloka 12
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
य इच्छसि जगत् सर्व नश्यमानं नृशंसवत् | अभयं सर्वभूते भ्यो दाता त्वमिति मे मति:,“मेरा तो ऐसा विश्वास था कि तुमने समस्त प्राणियोंको अभयदान दे दिया है; परंतु इस समय तुम एक निर्दय मनुष्यकी भाँति सम्पूर्ण जगत्का विनाश देखना चाहते हो
ya icchasi jagat sarvaṁ naśyamānaṁ nṛśaṁsavat | abhayaṁ sarvabhūtebhyo dātā tvam iti me matiḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: “Tu desejas ver o mundo inteiro perecer, como um homem cruel. E, no entanto, eu estava convicto de que tu eras aquele que concede destemor a todos os seres.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts the ideal of a ruler as a giver of “abhaya” (fearlessness and protection to all beings) with the moral collapse of desiring universal destruction; it frames cruelty and delight in ruin as adharma.
Sanjaya rebukes the addressee, expressing shock that someone believed to be a protector now seems to want to witness the world’s destruction, highlighting the ethical tension surrounding the impending conflict.