Shloka 101
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
कथमाभ्यामभि ध्यात: संस्पृष्टो दारुणेन वा । रणे जीवन प्रमुच्येत पदा भूमिमुपस्पृशन्
katham ābhyām abhidyātaḥ saṃspṛṣṭo dāruṇena vā | raṇe jīvan pramucyeta padā bhūmim upaspṛśan ||
三阇耶说道：“凡踏地而行的必死之人，如何能在战阵中逃得性命——若毗湿摩与德罗那已决意将他击杀，或哪怕仅被他们可怖的兵器触及？”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the vulnerability of ordinary mortals before the resolve and martial mastery of eminent warriors, raising an ethical awareness of war’s disproportionate power and the near-inevitability of death when great forces are set against an individual.
Sanjaya emphasizes to the listener that if Bhishma and Drona decide to kill someone, or if their fearsome weapons even make contact, survival in battle seems impossible for any earth-dwelling mortal—intensifying the sense of impending catastrophe in the lead-up to war.