Shloka 2

Devanagari script

घृततोय: समुद्रो5त्र दधिमण्डोदको5पर: । सुरोद: सागरश्वैव तथान्यो जलसागर:,क्षीरोद समुद्रके बाद घृतोद समुद्र है। फिर दधिमण्डोदक समुद्र है। इनके बाद सुरोद समुद्र है, फिर मीठे पानीका सागर है

Transliteration

ghṛtatoyaḥ samudro 'tra dadhimaṇḍodako 'paraḥ | surodāḥ sāgaraś caiva tathānyo jalasāgaraḥ ||

Translation

সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে—ইয়াত ঘৃতজলৰ সমুদ্ৰ আছে; আন এটা দধিমণ্ডোদক (দইৰ জলাংশ)ৰ সমুদ্ৰ। সুৰাৰ সাগৰো আছে, আৰু আন এটা মিঠা পানীৰ সমুদ্ৰো আছে।

Word by Word

घृततोयःthe ghee-water (ocean)

समुद्रःocean

अत्रhere

दधिमण्डोदकःthe buttermilk-water (ocean)

अपरःanother

सुरोदःthe liquor/fermented-drink (ocean)

सागरःocean

चand

एवindeed/just

तथाlikewise/so

अन्यःanother

जलसागरःthe water-ocean (freshwater sea)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

ghṛta-samudra (ocean of ghee)

dadhimaṇḍodaka-samudra (ocean of curd-whey)

surā-samudra (ocean of surā)

jala-sāgara (fresh-water sea)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive: it expands the epic’s sense of scale and marvel by listing extraordinary oceans. Indirectly, it reminds the listener that the human drama of dharma and war unfolds within a vast, layered cosmos—encouraging humility and perspective.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing a wondrous landscape by enumerating different ‘seas’ distinguished by their contents—ghee, the watery part of curds, surā, and fresh water—contributing to the epic’s mythic world-building in Bhīṣma Parva.