Shloka 4

धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनप्रस्थानम् — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Departure for Forest Life

Devanagari script

ते सम वीरा दुराधर्षा गाम्भीय्यें सागरोपमा: । शोकोपहतविज्ञाना नष्टसंज्ञा इवाभवन्‌,समुद्रके समान गाम्भीर्यशाली दुर्धर्ष वीर पाण्डव उन दिनों शोकसे सुध-बुध खो जानेके कारण अचेत-से हो गये थे

Transliteration

te sama-vīrā durādharṣā gāmbhīrye sāgaropamāḥ | śokopahata-vijñānā naṣṭa-saṃjñā ivābhavan ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ces héros—invincibles, égaux en vaillance, profonds comme l’océan—virent leur discernement frappé par le chagrin, et ils devinrent comme privés de conscience.»

Word by Word

तेthey (those)

समाःequal (in stature/quality)

वीराःheroes

दुराधर्षाःhard to assail/overcome

गाम्भीर्येणby (their) depth/gravitas

सागरोपमाःocean-like

शोक-उपहत-विज्ञानाःwhose understanding was struck down by grief

नष्ट-संज्ञाःhaving lost consciousness

इवas if

अभवन्became/were

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pāṇḍavas (implied by context: 'those heroes')

Ocean (sāgara, as simile)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the most steadfast and unconquerable can be overwhelmed by śoka (grief), which clouds vijñāna (discernment). The verse highlights a moral-psychological truth central to the epic: strength in dharma also requires inner clarity, and suffering can temporarily eclipse it.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes the heroes (contextually, the Pāṇḍavas) in the Ashramavāsika period as being so afflicted by sorrow that they appear almost unconscious—deep and formidable by nature, yet mentally stunned by grief.