Shloka 4
धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनप्रस्थानम् — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Departure for Forest Life
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
te sama-vīrā durādharṣā gāmbhīrye sāgaropamāḥ | śokopahata-vijñānā naṣṭa-saṃjñā ivābhavan ||
ते समा वीरा दुराधर्षा गाम्भीर्ये सागरोपमाः। शोकोपहतविज्ञाना नष्टसंज्ञा इवाभवन्॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.