Shloka 2

सगरोपाख्यानम् — कपिलकोपः, अंशुमतः विनयः, तथा भगीरथपरम्परा

Sagara Upākhyāna: Kapila’s Wrath, Aṃśumān’s Reverence, and the Bhāgīratha Line

Devanagari script

महता कालयोगेन प्रकृतिं यास्यतेडर्णव: । ज्ञातींश्र कारणं कृत्वा महाराजो भगीरथ:

Transliteration

mahatā kālayogena prakṛtiṁ yāsyate 'rṇavaḥ | jñātīn śrāddha-kāraṇaṁ kṛtvā mahārājo bhagīrathaḥ ||

Translation

凭借宏大时运的推移，大海将复归其本然之态。其后，婆祇罗多王（Bhagīratha）将以亡逝亲族为因，举行施罗陀（śrāddha）祭仪，并承担那能确保他们福祉之举——昭示王权当以对祖先之责与偿还宗族之德债为准绳。

Word by Word

महताby great

कालयोगेनby the conjunction/operation of time

प्रकृतिम्nature; original state

यास्यतेwill go/attain

अर्णवःthe ocean

ज्ञातीन्kinsmen; relatives

कारणम्cause; reason

कृत्वाhaving made

महाराजःthe great king

भगीरथःBhagīratha

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arṇava (Ocean)

Bhagīratha

Jñātis (kinsmen/ancestors)

Śrāddha (ancestral rites)

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?

Time (kāla) brings changes that restore things to their natural order, and a righteous king uses such moments to fulfill dharma—especially obligations to ancestors through śrāddha—placing lineage-responsibility above personal convenience.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker foretells that, in due course of time, the ocean will return to its normal state; then King Bhagīratha, motivated by the welfare of his departed relatives, will perform actions connected with śrāddha and ancestral deliverance, highlighting his famed commitment to his forebears.