Shloka 122
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
भीष्मवेगमपर्यन्तं द्रोणग्राहदुरासदम् | कर्णशल्यझषावर्त काम्बोजवडवामुखम्,'भीष्म उसके असीम वेग हैं, द्रोणाचार्यरूपी ग्राहके होनेसे इस सैन्यसागरमें प्रवेश करना अत्यन्त दुष्कर है, कर्ण और शल्य क्रमश: मत्स्य तथा आवर्त (भँवर)-का काम करते हैं और काम्बोजराज सुदक्षिण इसमें बड़वानल हैं
bhīṣmavegam aparyantaṃ droṇagrāhadurāsadam | karṇaśalyajhaṣāvarta kāmbojavaḍavāmukham ||
Sañjaya disse: «Este exército é como um oceano cuja arremetida é Bhīṣma—força sem limites. É dificílimo penetrá-lo, pois Droṇa se ergue como um crocodilo a guardá-lo. Karṇa e Śalya atuam nele como um grande peixe e um redemoinho, e o rei kâmboja Sudakṣiṇa é como o fogo submarino que arde por dentro».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches strategic discernment through vivid metaphor: formidable leaders create layered dangers—direct force (Bhīṣma), guarded entry (Droṇa), internal threats and entrapment (Karṇa and Śalya), and hidden consuming peril (Sudakṣiṇa as vaḍavānala). Ethically, it underscores the gravity of war: entering such a conflict is not merely a physical act but a plunge into compounded risks that demand restraint, foresight, and responsibility.
Sañjaya is reporting and characterizing the opposing host as an ‘ocean’ of troops. He maps key Kaurava champions onto oceanic dangers to convey to the listener that confronting or penetrating this formation will be extraordinarily difficult and destructive.