Shloka 8

भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 54: फल्गुन-प्रतिरोधः, सौबली-व्यूह-विध्वंसः, दुर्योधन-भीष्म-संवादः

Devanagari script

सो5हमेवंगते मग्नो भीष्मागाधजले<प्लवे

Transliteration

so’ham evaṃgate magno bhīṣmāgādhajale ’plave

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „So fand ich mich, als sich die Ereignisse entfalteten, versinkend—ohne irgendeine Möglichkeit hinüberzugelangen—in den tiefen Wassern Bhishmas, wie in einer unergründlichen Flut, überwältigt vom Lauf des Krieges.“

Word by Word

सःhe

अहम्I

एवम्thus, in this manner

गतेwhen (it is) gone/when it has come to (such a state)

मग्नःsunk, immersed

भीष्म-अगाध-जलेin the water deep as Bhīṣma (i.e., Bhīṣma-like unfathomable water)

अप्लवेin (a state) without a raft/without a means of crossing

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Bhishma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a vivid metaphor—being submerged in deep water without a boat—to convey how overwhelming the momentum of war and destiny can feel. Ethically, it highlights human vulnerability amid adharma-driven conflict and the need for steadiness and discernment when events become unmanageable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya, narrating events to Dhritarashtra, describes his own state as the situation develops: he feels engulfed by the ‘deep waters’ associated with Bhishma’s formidable presence and the war’s intensity, as if there is no raft to cross the danger.