To Realize
To Attain Enlightenment
transitive verb, godan verb
Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means realize, so the verb version means to realize. But you probably already realized that…
悟る is often used when someone understands something deeply, not just at the surface-level. It's a sudden, clear realization. So this also means to attain enlightenment.
You just realized something so amazing that you can't believe it. That realization, wow! You were able to realize something so big that you sat (さと) down in disbelief. If you didn't you would have fallen on the ground.
背中の曲がったお婆さんは、不法滞在者として拘置所に拘留された時、そこで自分が死を迎えることになることを悟りました。
When the hunchbacked old lady was sent to a detention center for being an illegal immigrant, she realized that it would be where she met her death.