Shloka 59

Devanagari script

भवन्तं नाथमासाद्य हावां व्यसनसागरात्‌ । घोरादद्य समुत्तीर्णावुभावज्ञानमोहितौ,“आज आपको अपना रक्षक पाकर हम दोनों संकटके भयानक समुद्रसे पार हो गये। हम दोनों ही अज्ञानसे मोहित हो रहे थे; परंतु आपकी बुद्धिरूपी नौकाका आश्रय लेकर दुःख-शोकके समुद्रसे मन्त्रियोंसहित पार हो गये। अच्युत! हम आपसे ही सनाथ हैं!

Transliteration

bhavantaṁ nātham āsādya hāvāṁ vyasana-sāgarāt | ghorād adya samuttīrṇāv ubhāv ajñāna-mohitau | acyuta! tvad-buddhi-naukā-śaraṇaṁ prāpya duḥkha-śoka-sāgarāt mantri-sahitaṁ samuttīrṇau | tvatta eva sānāthau smaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Da wir dich als unseren Schutzherrn gefunden haben, sind wir beide heute über den furchtbaren Ozean des Unheils hinübergelangt. Wir waren beide durch Unwissenheit verblendet; doch im Schutz des Kahns deiner unterscheidenden Weisheit haben wir—zusammen mit den Ministern—das Meer von Kummer und Gram durchquert. O Acyuta, allein durch dich sind wir nicht mehr hilflos.“

Word by Word

• {'bhavantam': 'you (honorific accusative singular)', 'nātha': 'protector, lord, refuge', 'āsādya': 'having reached/obtained, having found (gerund)', 'vyasana': 'calamity, misfortune, distress', 'sāgara': 'ocean, vast expanse (metaphor for overwhelming suffering)', 'ghora': 'terrible, dreadful', 'adya': 'today, now', 'samuttīrṇa': 'crossed over, safely passed beyond', 'ubhāv': 'both (of us two)', 'ajñāna': 'ignorance, lack of right knowledge', 'mohita': 'deluded, bewildered', 'acyuta': 'Acyuta (epithet of Kṛṣṇa: ‘the unfailing/unyielding one’)', 'buddhi': 'intelligence, discernment, wise counsel', 'naukā': 'boat (metaphor for guidance that carries one across danger)', 'śaraṇa': 'refuge, shelter', 'duḥkha': 'pain, suffering', 'śoka': 'grief, lamentation', 'mantri-sahita': 'together with the ministers/counsellors', 'sānātha': 'having a protector

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Acyuta (Kṛṣṇa)
• ministers/counsellors (mantri)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that in times of overwhelming crisis (vyasana), clear discernment and righteous guidance (buddhi) function like a boat that carries one across the ocean of grief. Ethically, it emphasizes seeking wise counsel and taking refuge in a steadfast protector rather than remaining trapped in delusion (ajñāna-moha).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya expresses relief and gratitude, saying that he and another person (implicitly Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the broader narrative setting) have been saved from a terrifying situation by finding a reliable protector addressed as Acyuta (Kṛṣṇa). He uses the metaphor of crossing an ocean of calamity and sorrow, adding that even the ministers have been carried across by the ‘boat’ of that protector’s wisdom.