Shloka 56
Nārāyaṇasya Guhya-nāmāni Niruktāni (Etymologies of Nārāyaṇa’s Secret Epithets) / नारायणस्य गुह्यनामानि निरुक्तानि
Devanagari script
अजस्रमेव मोहान्धो दुःखेषु सुखसंज्ञित:
Transliteration
ajasram eva mohāndho duḥkheṣu sukhasaṃjñitaḥ
Translation
那罗陀说：他被迷妄无间遮蔽，竟以苦为乐——把痛楚当作可喜，因此长久困于颠倒之中。
Word by Word
अजस्रम्continually, incessantly
अजस्रम्:
Adhikarana
TypeAdjective
Rootअजस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
एवindeed, just
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
मोह-अन्धःblinded by delusion
मोह-अन्धः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootमोह (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
दुःखेषुin sufferings
दुःखेषु:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootदुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Locative, Plural
सुख-संज्ञितःconsidering (them) as happiness / taking as pleasure
सुख-संज्ञितः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootसुख (प्रातिपदिक) + संज्ञित (कृदन्त; √ज्ञा with सम्, past passive participle sense 'designated/considered')
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
Speaker
नारद उवाच
Characters & Entities
N
NāradaCharacter Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Delusion can invert one’s moral and experiential judgment: a person may repeatedly label harmful, painful states as ‘happiness.’ The verse warns that ethical clarity requires recognizing duḥkha as duḥkha and not rationalizing it as sukha.
Nārada is speaking in a didactic context within Śānti Parva, characterizing a deluded person’s mindset: continual confusion leads him to misperceive suffering as happiness, illustrating a key obstacle to right understanding and right conduct.