Shloka 19
Adhyāya 160: Arjuna’s Envoy-Message—Critique of Borrowed Valor and Pre-dawn Mobilization
कथमाभ्यामभि ध्यात: संस्पृष्टो दारुणेन वा । रणे जीवन विमुच्येत पदा भूमिमुपस्पृशन्
katham ābhyām abhidyātaḥ saṁspṛṣṭo dāruṇena vā | raṇe jīvan vimucyeta padā bhūmim upaspṛśan ||
Hamon ni Ulūka: “Kung ang isang mandirigma’y itinakda nang mamatay nina Bhīṣma at Droṇa, o kahit nadampian lamang sa digmaan ng kanilang nakapanghihilakbot na sandata—paano makatatakas nang buhay ang sinumang mortal na tumatapak pa sa lupa?”
उलूक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial reputation and fear can be used as moral-political leverage: by portraying Bhīṣma and Droṇa as inescapable forces, Ulūka frames resistance as futile, aiming to coerce submission rather than invite a dharmic resolution.
Ulūka is delivering a taunting, confidence-building message on behalf of the Kaurava side, asserting that anyone targeted by Bhīṣma and Droṇa—or even grazed by their weapons—cannot survive the battlefield.