Shloka 160

Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि उलूकदूतागमनपर्वणि दुर्योधनवाक्ये षष्टयधिकशततमो< ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi ulūkadūtāgamanaparvaṇi duryodhanavākye ṣaṣṭyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि उलूकदूतागमनपर्वणि दुर्योधनवाक्ये षष्ट्यधिकशततमोऽध्यायः।

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the revered Mahabharata

उद्योगपर्वणिin the Udyoga Parva

उलूकदूतागमनपर्वणिin the section (parvan) on the arrival of Uluka as messenger

दुर्योधनवाक्येin Duryodhana's speech/statement

षष्टि-अधिक-शततमःthe one-hundred-and-sixtieth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Mahabharata

Udyoga Parva

Uluka

Duryodhana

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?

As a colophon, the line does not teach through a direct maxim; instead it signals the ethical pivot of the episode: diplomacy is being used as a stage for hardened positions. By labeling the chapter as ‘Duryodhana’s words’ within an envoy narrative, it highlights how personal resolve and pride can override conciliatory dharma and propel society toward war.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is the formal closing statement of a chapter in the Udyoga Parva. It situates the chapter within the sub-episode of Ulūka’s arrival as a messenger and identifies the chapter’s focus as Duryodhana’s speech, marking the end of that unit and preparing the reader for the next development in the pre-war negotiations.