Shloka 236

Adhyāya 6: Śibira-dvāra-sthita Bhūta-varṇana and Aśvatthāmā’s Śaraṇāgati to Mahādeva

Devanagari script

अमार्गेणैवमार भ्य घोरामापदमागत: । “इस प्रकार गुरुजनोंने पहले-से ही सब लोगोंको सदाके लिये यह शिक्षा दे रखी है। परंतु मैं उस शास्त्रोक्त सनातन मार्गका उल्लंघन करके बिना रास्तेके ही चलकर इस प्रकार अनुचित कर्मका आरम्भ करके भयंकर आपत्तिमें पड़ गया हूँ

Transliteration

amārgeṇaivamārabhya ghorām āpadam āgataḥ |

Translation

サञ्जャヤは言った。「道なき道に踏み出し—正しく許された道を外れて事を起こしたために—私は恐るべき災厄に陥った。長老たちは昔より、万人のために聖典に説かれた永遠の道を教えていたのに、私はその不変の規範を破り、道を失って進み、不当の業を起こして、かくして惨たる苦境に入ったのだ。」

Word by Word

अमार्गेणby the wrong path / without a path

एवindeed / just

आरभ्यhaving begun / starting

घोराम्terrible

आपदम्calamity / misfortune

आगतःhas come / has fallen (into)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

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?

Departing from the śāstra-guided, time-honored path (sanātana-mārga) and initiating action through an improper means leads to grave consequences; ethical transgression ripens into calamity.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker reflects on having begun an undertaking “without a path,” i.e., contrary to proper conduct taught by elders, and acknowledges that this deviation has brought about a fearful crisis—an admission of wrongdoing and its fallout amid the grim events of the Sauptika Parva.