Shloka 5
Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity
Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27
Devanagari script
तनन््महोदधिसंकाशं निरानन्दमनुत्सवम्
Transliteration
tan mahodadhi-saṅkāśaṃ nirānandam anutsavam
Translation
Vaiśampāyana said: “It was like a vast ocean—yet devoid of joy, without any gladness, and without celebration.”
Word by Word
तत्that
तत्:
Karma
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
Formneuter, nominative/accusative, singular
महोदधि-संकाशम्resembling the great ocean
महोदधि-संकाशम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootमहोदधि-संकाश
Formneuter, nominative/accusative, singular
निरानन्दम्joyless, devoid of happiness
निरानन्दम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootनिरानन्द
Formneuter, nominative/accusative, singular
अनुत्सवम्without festivity; having no celebration
अनुत्सवम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootअनुत्सव
Formneuter, nominative/accusative, singular
Speaker
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Characters & Entities
V
VaiśampāyanaCharacter 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
The verse underscores the ethical and emotional cost of war: even something vast and overwhelming can be emptied of meaning when it is stripped of joy and communal celebration, pointing to the hollowness that follows violence and loss.
In the Strī Parva’s mourning context, the narrator describes the prevailing atmosphere after the catastrophe—immense in scale like an ocean, yet marked by sorrow, silence, and the absence of any festive spirit.