Shloka 29
भीष्मस्य सेनापत्यप्रतिज्ञा तथा रथसंख्यावर्णनम् | Bhishma Accepts Command and Enumerates Kaurava Strength
मम विप्रियकर्तारं कैतव्य ब्रूहि कौरवम्,श्रुतं वाक््यं गृहीतो<र्थों मतं यत् ते तथास्तु तत् । “उलूक! तू मेरा अप्रिय करनेवाले दुर्योधनसे कहना--'तेरा संदेश सुना और उसका अभिप्राय समझ लिया। तेरी जैसी इच्छा है, वैसा ही हो”
mama vipriyakartāraṁ kaitavya brūhi kauravam, śrutaṁ vākyaṁ gṛhīto 'rtho mataṁ yat te tathāstu tat.
اے مکار! اس کورو (دریودھن) سے—جو میرے خلافِ مصلحت چلتا ہے—کہہ دینا: “تیرا پیغام سن لیا گیا اور اس کا مطلب سمجھ لیا گیا۔ جیسی تیری خواہش ہے ویسا ہی ہو۔”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of intention and communication in diplomacy: a message may be formally acknowledged (“heard and understood”), yet the ethical stance is conveyed through pointed address—branding deceit and hostility—showing that speech can both transmit information and judge character.
Sanjaya instructs Uluka, the Kaurava messenger, to report back to Duryodhana. He says the message has been received and understood, but the wording frames Duryodhana as one who acts against him and calls the envoy deceitful, signaling hardened positions as war approaches.