Shloka 43
Adhyāya 160: Arjuna’s Envoy-Message—Critique of Borrowed Valor and Pre-dawn Mobilization
तदा मनस्ते त्रिदिवादिवाशुचे- निवर्तिता पार्थ महीप्रशासनात् | प्रशाम्य राज्यं हि सुदुर्लभं त्वया बुभूषित: स्वर्ग इवातपस्विना
tadā manas te tridivād ivāśuce nivartitā pārtha mahīpraśāsanāt | praśāmya rājyaṃ hi sudurlabhaṃ tvayā bubhūṣitaḥ svarga ivātapasvinā ||
Wika ni Ulūka: “Kung magkagayon, O Pārtha, ang iyong isip ay agad tatalikod sa pamamahala sa lupa—gaya ng isip ng maruming tao na tumatalikod sa langit, sapagkat batid niyang di niya iyon maaabot. Manahimik ka at maupo: ang paghahari ay lubhang mahirap para sa iyo. Hinangad mo ang kaharian na parang taong di nag-askeza na naghahangad ng langit.”
उलूक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames sovereignty as something that must be deserved through discipline and merit: desiring a kingdom without the requisite strength, support, or ‘tapas’-like resolve is compared to an undisciplined person longing for heaven. Ethically, it also illustrates how rhetoric can be used to shame and destabilize an opponent’s purpose.
Ulūka, speaking on behalf of the Kauravas, taunts Arjuna (Pārtha) during the tense pre-war diplomacy of the Udyoga Parva. He predicts that Arjuna will abandon hope of ruling and urges him to ‘sit quietly,’ aiming to weaken the Pāṇḍavas’ claim and confidence before the coming conflict.