Shloka 48
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
कि नु सुप्तो5स्मि जागर्मि चेतयामि न चेतये । अहो चित्तविकारो<यं स्याद् वा मे चित्तविभ्रम:,'क्या मैं सोता हूँ या जागता हूँ? मुझे चेत है या नहीं? अहो! यह मेरे चित्तका विकार तो नहीं है, अथवा हो सकता है यह मेरे मनका भ्रम हो”
ki nu supto 'smi jāgarmi cetayāmi na cetaye | aho cittavikāro 'yaṃ syād vā me cittavibhramaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Am I asleep, or am I awake? Do I truly perceive, or do I not perceive at all? Alas—could this be some disturbance of my mind, or perhaps a delusion that has seized my consciousness?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of human cognition: even a sincere person can be shaken into doubting whether experience is real or illusory. Ethically, it urges humility and careful discernment (viveka) when the mind is disturbed, rather than acting rashly under confusion.
In the closing movement of the Mahābhārata’s Svargārohaṇa episode, the speaker voices acute bewilderment—questioning wakefulness and awareness—indicating a moment where extraordinary events and intense grief/strain make ordinary perception unreliable.