Shloka 38
Adhyāya 160: Arjuna’s Envoy-Message—Critique of Borrowed Valor and Pre-dawn Mobilization
संयुगं गच्छ भीष्मेण भिन्धि वा शिरसा गिरिम् | तरेम॑ वा महागाध॑ बाहुभ्यां पुरुषोदधिम्,“तुम भीष्मके साथ युद्ध करो या सिरसे पहाड़ फोड़ो या सैनिकोंके अत्यन्त गहरे महासागरको दोनों बाँहोंसे तैरकर पार करो
saṁyugaṁ gaccha bhīṣmeṇa bhindhi vā śirasā girim | tarema vā mahāgādhaṁ bāhubhyāṁ puruṣodadhim |
จงไปเข้าสมรกับภีษมะ; หรือไม่ก็จงใช้ศีรษะแยกภูผา; หรืออีกทางหนึ่ง จงใช้สองแขนว่ายข้าม ‘มหาสมุทรแห่งบุรุษ’—ทะเลทหารอันลึกยิ่ง—ให้ได้
उलूक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates coercive rhetoric in a dharma-crisis: by framing refusal as equivalent to absurd impossibilities, the speaker tries to force a warrior’s choice toward battle, showing how honor-language can be used to intensify violence and narrow moral options.
Ulūka, acting as a messenger in the tense pre-war negotiations, delivers a provocative challenge: either confront Bhīṣma in battle or accomplish impossible feats—thereby mocking hesitation and pushing the situation toward open war.