Shloka 42

Devanagari script

शिखण्डी तु ततो वाक्यमुलूकमिदमत्रवीत्‌ । वक्तव्यो भवता राजा पापेष्वभिरत: सदा,तत्पश्चात्‌ शिखण्डीने उलूकसे इस प्रकार कहा--'उलूक! सदा पापमें ही तत्पर रहनेवाले अपने राजाके पास जाकर तू इस प्रकार कहना--

Transliteration

śikhaṇḍī tu tato vākyam ulūkam idam abravīt | vaktavyo bhavatā rājā pāpeṣv abhirataḥ sadā ||

Translation

Санджая сказал: Затем Шикханди обратился к Улуке со словами: «Ступай и скажи своему царю — тому, кто всегда предаётся греховным путям».

Word by Word

शिखण्डीShikhandi

तुbut/indeed

ततःthen/thereafter

वाक्यम्speech/words

उलूकम्Uluka (to/at Uluka)

इदम्this

अत्रhere

अवीत्said/spoke

वक्तव्यःto be said (should be said)

भवताby you (honorific)

राजाking

पापेषुin sins/evil deeds

अभिरतःengaged/devoted

सदाalways

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Śikhaṇḍī

Ulūka

the king (unnamed here)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds ethical evaluation in political speech: a ruler persistently devoted to wrongdoing is explicitly named as such, implying that adharma in leadership warrants direct censure and shapes the moral framing of subsequent actions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Śikhaṇḍī speaks to Ulūka, instructing him to deliver a message to his king. This sets up a formal messenger exchange in the lead-up to conflict, with a pointed moral characterization of the recipient.