Shloka 231

कपोती-विलापः स्वर्गसंयोगश्च

The Dove’s Lament and Celestial Reunion

Devanagari script

ततो धाराकुले काले सम्भ्रमन्‌ नष्टचेतन: । शीतार्तस्तद्‌ वन॑ सर्वमाकुलेनान्तरात्मना

Transliteration

tato dhārākule kāle sambhraman naṣṭacetanaḥ | śītārtaḥ tad vanaṁ sarvam ākulenāntarātmanā ||

Translation

ครั้นกาลเวลาปั่นป่วนและน่าหวาดหวั่น เขาก็เร่ร่อนอย่างสับสน ราวกับสิ้นสติ ถูกความหนาวทรมานและใจภายในปั่นป่วน จึงเห็นป่าทั้งผืนประหนึ่งตกอยู่ในความอลหม่านตามความกระสับกระส่ายของตน

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereupon

धाराकुलेin (a time) made turbulent by streams (of rain)

कालेin the time/season

सम्भ्रमन्being bewildered, reeling

नष्टचेतनःone whose consciousness was lost

शीतार्तःafflicted by cold

तत्that

वनम्forest

सर्वम्entire, all

आकुलेनwith a disturbed/agitated (state)

अन्तरात्मनाwith (his) inner self/mind

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma (speaker)

forest (vana)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how inner disturbance reshapes perception: when the mind is agitated and consciousness falters under hardship (like cold and fear), the outer world appears chaotic. Ethical steadiness in dharma requires mastering inner turbulence so that judgment is not overwhelmed by suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes a person (contextually, the one being narrated about) wandering in a harsh, turbulent time—confused, nearly senseless, and suffering from cold—so that the whole forest seems disordered, reflecting the turmoil within.