Shloka 11
Adhyāya 160: Arjuna’s Envoy-Message—Critique of Borrowed Valor and Pre-dawn Mobilization
लोहाभिसारो निर्वेत्त: कुरुक्षेत्रमकर्दमम् । सम: पन्था भृतास्तेश्वा: श्वो युध्यस्व सकेशव:
ulūka uvāca | lohābhisāro nirvṛttaḥ kurukṣetram akardamam | samaḥ panthā bhṛtās te 'śvāḥ śvo yudhyasva sa-keśavaḥ |
优卢迦说道：“铁器的准备——兵刃与武器——都已完毕；俱卢之野（Kurukṣetra）已干涸无泥；道路平坦，你的战马也已喂养充足、精力充沛。故而明日拂晓便来应战，与凯舍瓦（克里希纳）并肩而战。”
उलूक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how deliberate preparation and strategic timing are used to compel action in war; ethically, it shows the rhetoric of provocation—pressing the opponent to fight immediately—highlighting the tension between duty (kṣatriya warfare) and the manipulative escalation that precedes violence.
Ulūka, acting as a messenger from the Kaurava side, taunts and summons the opposing party to come the next morning to Kurukṣetra for battle, emphasizing that weapons are ready, the ground has dried, the road is smooth, and the horses are well-fed—signaling full readiness for war.