Shloka 12

धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा तथा द्रोणविषयकप्रश्नाः

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Fainting and Questions Concerning Droṇa

Devanagari script

शोषणं सागरस्येव मेरोरिव विसर्पणम्‌

Transliteration

śoṣaṇaṃ sāgarasyeva meroriva visarpaṇam

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks in a tone of foreboding, using stark similes: what is being attempted or unfolding seems as impossible and unnatural as drying up the ocean, or making Mount Meru slip from its place. The line conveys the moral weight of the war’s momentum—events driven by adharma and obsession appear to demand the undoing of the world’s very order.

Word by Word

• शोषणम्: drying up, desiccation
• शोषणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोषण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• सागरस्य: of the ocean
• सागरस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• मेरोः: of Meru (the mountain)
• मेरोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेरु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• विसर्पणम्: spreading, creeping expansion
• विसर्पणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: विसर्पण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Sāgara (ocean/sea)
• Meru (Mount Meru)