Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
न चापि गमने शक्ति काज्चित् पश्यामि चिन्तयन् । सो<5स्मि नेय: सदा तात नदीकूलमित:ः परम्
na cāpi gamane śaktiṃ kāñcit paśyāmi cintayan | so 'smi neyaḥ sadā tāta nadīkūlam itaḥ param ||
三阇耶说道:“纵然思量再三,我也不觉自身有丝毫步行之力。因此,孩子啊,我须常被引领;你当将我从此处送至河的彼岸之滨。”
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights a dharmic ethic of care: when someone becomes weak or incapacitated, it becomes righteous for the able person—addressed here as “tāta”—to provide steady assistance. It also underscores humility in acknowledging one’s limits.
A speaker (reported by Sanjaya) states that he has no strength to walk even after trying to assess himself, and therefore instructs the addressed person to lead/carry him regularly from their current place to the riverbank on the farther side.