Shloka 99
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
अनिलो वा वहेन्मेरुं द्यौर्वापि निपतेन्महीम् । युगं वा परिवर्तेत यद्येवं सस््थादू यथा55तथ माम्,“तुमने मुझसे जो कुछ कहा है, वह यदि सत्य हो जाय, तब तो हवा मेरुको उठा ले, स्वर्गलोक इस पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े अथवा युग ही बदल जाय
anilo vā vahen meruṃ dyaur vāpi nipaten mahīm | yugaṃ vā parivarteta yadyevaṃ sasthādū yathā tathā mām ||
Disse Sañjaya: “Se o que me disseste viesse a tornar-se verdade, então o impossível aconteceria: o vento poderia carregar o monte Meru, o próprio céu poderia cair sobre a terra, ou a era (yuga) poderia ser revolvida. Tal afirmação subverteria a ordem estabelecida do mundo.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses deliberate hyperbole—cosmic impossibilities—to stress that a certain claim is beyond credibility. Ethically, it highlights the importance of truthfulness and the gravity of speech: assertions that contradict dharma and worldly order demand strong proof.
Sañjaya reacts to what he has been told by implying that, if it were true, it would overturn the natural and cosmic order—like the wind uprooting Meru or heaven falling to earth. The line functions as a rhetorical marker of disbelief or astonishment within the tense pre-war negotiations of the Udyoga Parva.