Shloka 2

Devanagari script

स सुश्राव महाबाहुः कपिलेन महात्मना । पितृणां निधन घोरमप्राप्तिं त्रिदिवस्य च,नरेश्वरर! उन महाबाहुने जब यह सुना कि महात्मा कपिलद्दधारा हमारे (साठ हजार) पितरोंकी भयंकर मृत्यु हुई है और वे स्वर्गप्राप्तिसे वंचित रह गये हैं तब उन्होंने व्यथित हृदयसे अपना राज्य मन्त्रीको सौंप दिया और स्वयं हिमालयके शिखरपर तपस्या करनेके लिये प्रस्थान किया

Transliteration

sa suśrāva mahābāhuḥ kapilena mahātmanā | pitṝṇāṁ nidhanaṁ ghoraṁ aprāptiṁ tridivasya ca ||

Translation

Then the mighty-armed king heard from the great sage Kapila of the dreadful destruction of his forefathers and that they had been deprived of attaining heaven. Stricken with grief and responsibility, he entrusted his kingdom to his minister and set out for the peaks of the Himalaya to undertake austerities.

Word by Word

सःhe

सुश्रावheard

महाबाहुःthe mighty-armed (one)

कपिलेनby Kapila

महात्मनाby the great-souled (sage)

पितृणाम्of the forefathers

निधनम्death, destruction

घोरम्terrible

अप्राप्तिम्non-attainment, failure to obtain

त्रिदिवस्यof heaven (the threefold sky)

चand

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kapila

the mighty-armed king (Sagara in the surrounding narrative)

the ancestors/forefathers (pitṛs; traditionally the sixty thousand sons/forefathers)

Tridiva (Svarga, heaven)

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?

The verse highlights pitṛ-dharma and royal responsibility: when a ruler learns of grave harm to his lineage and their blocked spiritual destiny, he responds not with anger but with disciplined action—delegating governance and undertaking tapas to seek restitution. Ethical leadership includes accountability for inherited consequences and commitment to remedial dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kapila informs the king that his forefathers have met a terrible end and have not attained heaven. Hearing this, the king is deeply distressed, hands over the kingdom to a minister, and departs for the Himalaya to perform austerities aimed at resolving the ancestors’ plight.