Shloka 96

उलूकदूतवाक्यम् / Ulūka’s Message to the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

विभीषयन्निव जगत्‌ पाण्डवानभ्यवर्तत । रुक्‍मी मेघकी गर्जनाके समान भयानक टंकार करनेवाले विजय नामक धनुषको पाकर सम्पूर्ण जगत्‌को भयभीत-सा करता हुआ पाण्डवोंके यहाँ आया

Transliteration

vibhīṣayann iva jagat pāṇḍavān abhyavartata | rūkṣa-megha-garjanāke samāna-bhayānaka-ṭaṅkāra-karaṇavāle vijaya-nāmaka-dhanuṣko pākar sampūrṇa-jagatko bhayabhīta-sā kartā huā pāṇḍavoṅke yahā̃ āyā |

Translation

毗舍摩波耶那说：他仿佛要震慑整个世界一般，向般度诸子逼近。得了名为“胜利”（Vijaya）的神弓——其可怖的弦响如暴雷云的轰鸣——他来到般度一方，使天下似乎尽被恐惧所笼罩。

Word by Word

• विभीषयन्: frightening, terrifying
• विभीषयन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: विभीषय् (भिष्/भी धातु-प्रेरणार्थक)
• Form: present (vartamāna), parasmaipada (active), present active participle (śatṛ), masculine, nominative, singular

• इव: as if, like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत्
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• पाण्डवान्: the Pāṇḍavas
• पाण्डवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• अभ्यवर्तत: approached, came towards
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि + वृत्
• Form: laṅ, imperfect (past), third, singular, ātmanepada

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pāṇḍavas
• Vijaya (bow)
• the world (jagat)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how martial power and its symbols (like a famed bow) can generate fear and escalate tensions; ethically, it points to the gravity of war—its psychological force affects not only opponents but the wider world, pressing leaders to weigh dharma and restraint amid rising conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

A formidable figure comes to the Pāṇḍavas after obtaining the bow named Vijaya. The bow’s fearsome twang, likened to thunderclouds, makes it seem as if the whole world is being frightened as he advances toward the Pāṇḍavas’ camp/side.