Shloka 83
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
यदर्थ क्षत्रिया सूते सर्व तदिदमागतम् | बलं॑ वीर्य च शौर्य च परं चाप्यस्त्रलाघवम्
yadartha kṣatriyā sūte sarva tad idam āgatam | balaṁ vīryaṁ ca śauryaṁ ca paraṁ cāpy astralāghavam ||
“โอ้สารถี! สิ่งทั้งปวงที่กษัตริย์นักรบถือกำเนิดมาเพื่อมัน บัดนี้มาถึงแล้ว—กำลัง พลังกล้า ความหาญ และเหนือสิ่งอื่นใดคือความชำนาญฉับไวในการใช้อาวุธ”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the crisis as the full manifestation of kṣatriya-dharma: when conflict becomes unavoidable, the defining virtues of the warrior—strength, vigor, courage, and disciplined weapon-skill—stand revealed. It implicitly warns that war tests character and training, not merely ambition.
Sañjaya, reporting events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, remarks to the charioteer that the situation has reached the point where the essential qualities for which warriors exist are now being displayed—signaling that the confrontation has ripened into open martial contest.