उलूकदूतवाक्यम् / Ulūka’s Message to the Pāṇḍavas
ऑपनआक्राता छा अकाल अष्टपञ्चाशर्दाधिकशततमो« ध्याय: रुक्मीका सहायता देनेके लिये आना; परंतु पाण्डव और कौरव दोनों पक्षोंके द्वारा कोरा उत्तर पाकर लौट जाना वैशम्पायन उवाच एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु भीष्मकस्य महात्मन: । हिरण्यरोम्णो नृपते: साक्षादिन्द्रसखस्य वै
vaiśampāyana uvāca | etasminn eva kāle tu bhīṣmakasya mahātmanaḥ | hiraṇyaromṇo nṛpateḥ sākṣād indrasakhasya vai |
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi Janamejaya, đúng vào lúc ấy, bậc đại nhân Bhīṣmaka—vị vua lừng danh với danh xưng Hiraṇyaroman, bạn hữu trực tiếp của Indra—đã đến, bước vào dòng biến cố.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse underscores how decisive moments in dharma-and-war narratives often hinge on timely arrivals of powerful allies; prestige (being ‘Indra’s friend’) signals moral and political weight, yet such weight must still be tested by the choices of the parties involved.
Vaiśampāyana introduces a new figure entering the story at a critical juncture: the noble king Bhīṣmaka, also called Hiraṇyaroman, famed as a companion of Indra—setting up an episode of attempted assistance/mediation connected with the impending conflict.