Shloka 2

Devanagari script

ते पीडिता भृशं तेन रौद्रेण सहसा विभो । प्रमूढा नैव विविदुर्म॒धे कृत्यं सम किंचन,प्रभो! उस भयंकर वीरके द्वारा अत्यन्त पीड़ित होनेके कारण वे सहसा मोहित हो यह नहीं जान सके कि इस समय युद्धमें हमारा कर्तव्य क्या है?

Transliteration

te pīḍitā bhṛśaṃ tena raudreṇa sahasā vibho | pramūḍhā naiva vividur madhe kṛtyaṃ samaṃ kiñcana |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Von jenem wilden und furchtbaren Krieger über alle Maßen gepeinigt, wurden sie plötzlich von Verwirrung überwältigt, o Herr, und konnten in diesem Augenblick mitten im Kampf nicht erkennen, was ihre Pflicht und welcher rechte Handlungsweg ihnen noch blieb.

Word by Word

तेthey (those)

पीडिताःafflicted, tormented

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

तेनby him/that

रौद्रेणfierce, terrible

सहसाsuddenly, all at once

विभोO mighty one

प्रमूढाःbewildered, deluded

नnot

एवindeed, at all

विविदुःthey knew, they understood

मध्येin the midst (at that time/in between)

कृत्यम्duty, what is to be done

सम्entirely, properly (emphatic particle)

किञ्चनanything (at all)

प्रभोO lord

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

vibhu (addressed lord, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

that fierce warrior (unnamed in this verse)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even trained warriors can lose discernment under sudden terror; dharma (right action) requires steadiness of mind, and confusion in crisis leads to inability to judge what ought to be done.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the fighters, overwhelmed by a terrifying opponent’s assault, become momentarily stunned and cannot decide their proper course of action in the thick of battle.