Shloka 123

Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

दुःशासनौघं शलशल्यमत्स्यं सुषेणचित्रायुधनागनक्रम्‌ । जयद्रथाद्रिं पुरुमित्रगाधं दुर्मर्षणोदं शकुनिप्रपातम्‌,“दुःशासन उसके तीव्र प्रवाहके समान है, शल और शल्य मत्स्य हैं, सुषेण और चित्रायुध नाग और मकरके समान हैं, जयद्रथ पर्वत है, पुरुमित्र उसकी गम्भीरता है, दुर्मर्षण जल है और शकुनि प्रपात (झरने)-का काम देता है

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

duḥśāsanaughaṃ śalaśalyamatsyaṃ suṣeṇacitrāyudhanāganakram |

jayadrathādriṃ purumitragādhaṃ durmarṣaṇodaṃ śakuniprapātam ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Đạo quân ấy như một dòng sông lũ: Duḥśāsana là dòng chảy cuồn cuộn; Śala và Śalya là đàn cá trong đó; Suṣeṇa và Citrāyudha như rắn và cá sấu; Jayadratha đứng như một ngọn núi; Purumitra là lòng sông sâu; Durmarṣaṇa là nước của nó; và Śakuni làm nên thác đổ.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'duḥśāsana', 'definition': 'Duḥśāsana

• a prominent Kaurava prince, here likened to the river’s violent flow'}, {'term': 'ogha / augha (aughaṃ)', 'definition': 'a flood, mass, rushing stream

• a powerful surge'}, {'term': 'śala', 'definition': 'Śala

• a warrior/ally named Śala, here compared to a fish'}, {'term': 'śalya', 'definition': 'Śalya

• king of Madra, here compared to a fish'}, {'term': 'matsya (matsyaṃ)', 'definition': 'fish

• metaphor for dangerous life within the torrent'}, {'term': 'suṣeṇa', 'definition': 'Suṣeṇa

• a warrior/ally, here compared to a serpent'}, {'term': 'citrāyudha', 'definition': 'Citrāyudha

• a warrior/ally, here compared to a crocodile/makara-like threat'}, {'term': 'nāga', 'definition': 'serpent

• emblem of hidden danger'}, {'term': 'nakra', 'definition': 'crocodile

• a peril in deep waters'}, {'term': 'jayadratha', 'definition': 'Jayadratha

• king of Sindhu, here likened to a mountain obstructing/fortifying the river'}, {'term': 'adri (ādriṃ)', 'definition': 'mountain'}, {'term': 'purumitra', 'definition': 'Purumitra

• a warrior/ally, here described as the river’s depth'}, {'term': 'gādha (gādhaṃ)', 'definition': 'deep, unfathomable

• depth of water'}, {'term': 'durmarṣaṇa', 'definition': 'Durmarṣaṇa

• a Kaurava prince, here identified with the water itself'}, {'term': 'uda (odaṃ)', 'definition': 'water'}, {'term': 'śakuni', 'definition': 'Śakuni

• Gandhāra prince, emblem of deceitful counsel, here the waterfall'}, {'term': 'prapāta (prapātam)', 'definition': 'waterfall, precipice-fall

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Duḥśāsana
• Śala
• Śalya
• Suṣeṇa
• Citrāyudha
• Jayadratha
• Purumitra
• Durmarṣaṇa
• Śakuni
• nāga (serpent)
• nakra (crocodile)
• adri (mountain)
• prapāta (waterfall)
• augha (flood/stream)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that collective power becomes most dangerous when driven by adharma: brute force (the flood), hidden threats (serpents/crocodiles), and manipulative intelligence (Śakuni as the waterfall) combine to overwhelm opponents. It cautions that unethical strategy can amplify violence like a river turned into a destructive torrent.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the Kaurava side through an extended river metaphor, assigning leading figures to features of a perilous flood—current, creatures, depth, mountain, and waterfall—so the listener grasps both the scale of the force and the kinds of dangers it contains (open aggression and covert treachery).