Shloka 42
Adhyāya 160: Arjuna’s Envoy-Message—Critique of Borrowed Valor and Pre-dawn Mobilization
शस्त्रौघमक्षय्यमतिप्रवृद्धं यदावगाहा श्रमनष्टचेता: । भविष्यसि त्वं हतसर्वबान्धव- स््तदा मनस्ते परितापमेष्यति
śastraugham akṣayyam atipravṛddhaṃ yadāvagāhāḥ śrama-naṣṭa-cetāḥ | bhaviṣyasi tvaṃ hata-sarva-bāndhavaḥ tadā manas te paritāpam eṣyati ||
Nagbabala si Ulūka na ang hukbo ng Kaurava ay parang rumaragasang baha ng mga sandata—lumalakas at waring di nauubos. Kapag sumuong ka sa agos na iyon, wawasakin ng pagod ang linaw ng iyong isip; at kapag napatay na ang lahat mong kamag-anak, saka sasakmal sa iyong puso ang naglalagablab na pagsisisi. Ang pananalitang ito’y pananakot—ginagawang isang napakalakas na puwersa ang digmaan, at inilalarawan ang tatag ng kalaban na hahantong hindi sa dangal kundi sa dalamhati at pagdurusang moral.
उलूक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war’s momentum can overwhelm judgment: entering the 'flood' of violence leads to mental collapse and, after the loss of one’s own people, to intense remorse. It implicitly warns that victory-talk and martial pride often end in grief, making ethical foresight crucial.
Ulūka, speaking on behalf of the Kauravas, delivers a taunting warning to the opposing side. He portrays the Kaurava forces as an inexhaustible torrent of weapons and predicts that the enemy will be exhausted, lose composure, and later suffer anguish when their relatives are killed.