Shloka 59

Devanagari script

भवन्तं नाथमासाद्य हावां व्यसनसागरात्‌ । घोरादद्य समुत्तीर्णावुभावज्ञानमोहितौ

Transliteration

bhavantaṁ nātham āsādya hāvāṁ vyasana-sāgarāt | ghorād adya samuttīrṇāv ubhāv ajñāna-mohitau | acyuta! tvad-buddhi-naukā-śaraṇaṁ prāpya duḥkha-śoka-sāgarāt mantri-sahitaṁ samuttīrṇau | tvatta eva sānāthau smaḥ ||

Translation

Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “Nang matagpuan ka naming tagapagtanggol, kaming dalawa ay nakatawid ngayong araw sa kakila-kilabot na dagat ng kapahamakan. Kapwa kami nalinlang ng kamangmangan; ngunit sa pagkanlong sa bangka ng iyong malinaw na karunungan, natawid namin—kasama ang mga ministro—ang dagat ng dalamhati at pagdadalamhati. O Acyuta, sa iyo lamang kaya hindi na kami walang sandigan.”

Word by Word

• {'bhavantam': 'you (honorific accusative singular)', 'nātha': 'protector, lord, refuge', 'āsādya': 'having reached/obtained, having found (gerund)', 'vyasana': 'calamity, misfortune, distress', 'sāgara': 'ocean, vast expanse (metaphor for overwhelming suffering)', 'ghora': 'terrible, dreadful', 'adya': 'today, now', 'samuttīrṇa': 'crossed over, safely passed beyond', 'ubhāv': 'both (of us two)', 'ajñāna': 'ignorance, lack of right knowledge', 'mohita': 'deluded, bewildered', 'acyuta': 'Acyuta (epithet of Kṛṣṇa: ‘the unfailing/unyielding one’)', 'buddhi': 'intelligence, discernment, wise counsel', 'naukā': 'boat (metaphor for guidance that carries one across danger)', 'śaraṇa': 'refuge, shelter', 'duḥkha': 'pain, suffering', 'śoka': 'grief, lamentation', 'mantri-sahita': 'together with the ministers/counsellors', 'sānātha': 'having a protector

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Acyuta (Kṛṣṇa)
• ministers/counsellors (mantri)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that in times of overwhelming crisis (vyasana), clear discernment and righteous guidance (buddhi) function like a boat that carries one across the ocean of grief. Ethically, it emphasizes seeking wise counsel and taking refuge in a steadfast protector rather than remaining trapped in delusion (ajñāna-moha).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya expresses relief and gratitude, saying that he and another person (implicitly Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the broader narrative setting) have been saved from a terrifying situation by finding a reliable protector addressed as Acyuta (Kṛṣṇa). He uses the metaphor of crossing an ocean of calamity and sorrow, adding that even the ministers have been carried across by the ‘boat’ of that protector’s wisdom.