Shloka 2
शोकसम्मूढहृदयो दुःखेनाभिपरिप्लुत: । मज्जमान इवागाधे विपुले शोकसागरे,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! सिंधुराज जयद्रथने जब विजयाभिलाषी पाण्डवोंका वह महान् शब्द सुना और गुप्तचरोंने आकर जब अर्जुनकी प्रतिज्ञाका समाचार निवेदन किया, तब वह सहसा उठकर खड़ा हो गया, उसका हृदय शोकसे व्याकुल हो गया। वह दुःखसे व्याप्त हो शोकके विशाल एवं अगाध महासागरमें ड्ूबता हुआ-सा बहुत सोच-विचारकर राजाओंकी सभामें गया और उन नरदेवोंके समीप रोने-बिलखने लगा
sañjaya uvāca | śoka-sammūḍha-hṛdayo duḥkhenābhipariplutaḥ | majjamāna ivāgādhe vipule śoka-sāgare ||
Sañjaya said: O King, his heart, bewildered by grief and overwhelmed by sorrow, seemed as though it were sinking in a vast and unfathomable ocean of lamentation. Thus afflicted, he was unable to steady himself amid the crushing consequences of war and vow-bound retribution.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how grief can overwhelm discernment: when one is engulfed by sorrow, the mind becomes confused and feels as if it is drowning. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such turmoil often follows from prior choices and the inexorable momentum of vows and consequences in war.
Sañjaya describes a person (contextually, a key warrior-king) becoming suddenly overcome with grief and distress, portrayed through the metaphor of sinking in a vast ocean of sorrow, as events on the battlefield and their repercussions press upon him.