Shloka 6
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
आहृक्योपद्वरे राजन्नुलूकमिदमब्रवीत् । राजेन्द्र! भरतनन्दन! नरश्रेष्ठ! दुर्योधनने कर्ण
sañjaya uvāca |
āhṛkyo'padvare rājann ulūkam idam abravīt |
rājendra bharatanandana naraśreṣṭha duryodhanaḥ karṇaṃ bhrātaraṃ duḥśāsanaṃ tathā subalaputraṃ śakuniṃ ca sambhāṣya mantrayitvā ulūkam ekānte āhūya tam evaṃ uvāca |
ulūka gaccha kaitavya pāṇḍavān sahasomakān |
pāṇḍavānāṃ kurūṇāṃ ca yuddhaṃ lokabhayaṅkaram ||
三阇耶说道：大王啊，在议事殿门槛之处，乌卢迦说了这些话。难敌以敬称呼之——“诸王之主，婆罗多族之荣，人中最胜”——又与迦尔那、其弟杜沙娑那及苏婆罗之子沙昆尼商议之后，便私下召乌卢迦来，对他说：“乌卢迦，你这狡诈之徒，速与索摩迦人同往般度诸子处。向他们宣告：般度与俱卢之间那场久经筹谋的战争，如今已迫近；此战将令天下震惧。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war is consciously escalated through private counsel and provocative messaging. Ethically, it underscores the danger of deceitful diplomacy and pride-driven decisions that make a conflict ‘fearsome to the world,’ affecting far more than the immediate rivals.
Duryodhana, after consulting Karna, Duhshasana, and Shakuni, privately instructs Uluka to go as an envoy to the Pandavas (with the Somakas) and deliver a message announcing that the long-anticipated Kuru–Pandava war is now imminent and will be dreadful for the world.