Shloka 9

Devanagari script

एवं विलप्य बहुधा करुणं सा सुदु:ःखिता

Transliteration

evaṃ vilapya bahudhā karuṇaṃ sā suduḥkhitā

Translation

Bhishma said: Having lamented in many ways with piteous cries, she remained overwhelmed by intense sorrow—her grief pouring out repeatedly in a manner that evokes compassion and underscores the human cost of suffering.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• विलप्य: having lamented
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + लप्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि

• बहुधा: in many ways / repeatedly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुधा

• करुणम्: pitiably / in a piteous manner
• Type: Adjective
• Root: करुण
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सा: she
• सा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सुदुःखिता: deeply afflicted / very sorrowful
• सुदुःखिता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुदुःखित
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical and emotional reality that suffering is not abstract: intense grief calls forth karuṇā (compassion). In dharma-discourse, acknowledging sorrow becomes a basis for humane judgment, restraint, and moral reflection.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma narrates that a woman (previously identified in the surrounding passage) laments repeatedly and piteously, remaining in extreme distress. The line functions as a narrative bridge emphasizing the depth of her sorrow before the next development in the story.