Parva 2 Chapter 31: atha ekatriṁśo'dhyāyaḥ kaṁsayoṣitāṁ vilāpaḥ - Kamsa's Wives Express Grief

vaiśaṁpāyana said: (O janamejaya!) Seeing their husband dead, as planets whose merit has elapsed, wives of kaṁsa surrounded the body of kaṁsa who was killed. taṁ mahīśayane suptaṁ kśitināthaṁ gatāyuṣam | bhāryāḥ sma dṛṣṭvā shochanti mṛgyo mṛgapatiṁ yathā ||2-31-2 Seeing kaṁsa, the lord of earth, lying on the ground losing his life, his wives lamented like female deer lament the death of a male deer. hā hatāḥ sma mahābāho hatāśā hatabāṁdhavāḥ | vīrapatnyo hate vīre tvayi vīra vratapriye ||2-31-3 O Man of strong arms! We are finished. We, the wives of a valiant man, have lost all hopes and relatives as you, fond of vows, are killed. imāmavasthāṁ paśyantyaḥ paśchimāṁ tava naiṣṭhikīm | kṛpaṇaṁ rājaśārdūla vilapāmaḥ sabāndhavāḥ ||2-31-4 Those who see your pathetic condition like this, O tiger among kings, lament along with relatives. cinnamūlāḥ sma saṁvṛttāḥ parityaktāstvayā vibho | tvayi paṣchatvamāpanne nāthe'smākaṁ mahābale ||2-31-5 O lord! As you abandon us, you, the strong man, our lord, leave us, our roots are severed. ko naḥ kopaparītāṅgī ratisaṁsargalālasāḥ | latā iva vicheṣṭantīḥ śayanīyāni neṣyati ||2-31-6 Who will pamper lying in a bed, us who act angry and who enjoy sexual union and who act like creepers without leaves? idaṁ te'sadṛśaṁ saumya hṛdyaniśvāsamārutam | dahatyarko mukhaṁ kāntaṁ nistoyamiva paṅkajam ||2-31-7 O gentle one! Accepting your breath of air, the sun is withering your face as beautiful as a lotus in a pond devoid of water. ime te śravaṇe śūnye na shobhete vikuṇḍale | śirodharāyāṁ saṁlīne satataṁ kuṇḍalapriye ||2-31-8 Your ears, which were always fond of earrings, do not shine without earrings. Your head is clinging to earth (or covered in dust). kva te sa mukuṭo vīra sarvaratnavibhūṣitaḥ | atyarthaṁ shiraso lakṣmīṁ yo dadhārārkasaprabhām ||2-31-9 O valiant! Where is your crown, decorated with all kinds of ornaments? The crown was imparting lakṣmī and bright sunshine to the person who wears it. anena hi kalatreṇā tavāntaḥpuraśobhinā | kathaṁ dīnena kartavyaṁ tvayi lokāntaraṁ gate ||2-31-10 What do we, many of your lamenting wives, who enhanced the beauty of your inner palace, do as you leave this world? nanu nāma striyaḥ sādhvyaḥ priyabhogeṣvavaṣchitāḥ | patīnāmaparityājyāḥ sa tvaṁ nastyajya gacchasi ||2-31-11 Husbands should not leave the good women who do not deceive them. Leaving us, where are you going? aho kālo mahāvīryo yena paryāyakarmaṇā | kālatulyaḥ sapatnānāṁ tvaṁ kṣipramapanīyase ||2-31-12 Time is immensely powerful. Only time makes changes. Time has quickly taken you from us, as a king takes away the life of his enemies. vayaṁ duḥkheṣvanuchitāḥ sukheṣveva tvayaidhitāḥ | kathaṁ vatsyāma vidhavā nātha kārpaṇyamāśritāḥ ||2-31-13 You always provided comfort to us. Hence we can not bear any distress. Lord! How can we live as widows in a pathetic condition? strīṇāṁ cāritralubdhānāṁ patirekaḥ parā gatiḥ | tvaṁ hi naḥ sā gatiścinnā kṛtāntena balīyasā ||2-31-14 Husband is the only aim in life for chaste women. As sacrifice, Time has taken away you, our only aim in life. vaidhavyenābhibhūtāḥ smaḥ śokasaṁtaptamānasāḥ | roditavyahrade magnāḥ kva gachcāmastvayā vinā ||2-31-15 (Note 1) Widowhood has come to all of us, with our minds distressed by sorrow. Where shall we go, immersed in the pool of sorrow? saha tvayā gataḥ kālastvadaṅke krīḍitaṁ kṛtam | kṣaṇena tadvihīnāḥ sma anityā hi nṛṇāṁ gatiḥ ||2-31-16 Time has left us along with you. Our play on your body has ended. You left us quickly. Fate of human beings is temporary. aho balavihīnāḥ sma vipanne tvayi mānada | ekaduṣkṛtakāriṇyaḥ sarvā vaidhavyalakṣaṇāḥ || 2-31-17 O One who gives honor to all! As you die, We are without any strength. All of us have become widows because of a single act of sin. tvayā svargapraticchandairlālitāḥ sma ratipriyāḥ | tvayi kāmavaśāḥ sarvāḥ sa nastyajya kva gacchasi ||2-31-18 Where are you going, leaving all of us, who were attached to you, who like pleasure and who were looked after by you with heavenly comforts. asmākaṁ tvamanāthānāṁ nātho hyasi suropama | You, comparable to deva-s, are the only lord of us, who are without any lords. āsāṁ vilapamānānāṁ kurarīṇāmiva prabho | prativākyaṁ jagannātha dātumarhasi mānada ||2-31-19 O lord of the universe! O One who gives honor to all! Please reply to us who are lamenting like osprey birds. evamārtakalatrasya śāmyamāneṣu bandhuṣu | gamanaṁ te mahābhāga dāruṇe pratibhāti naḥ ||2-31-20 O illustrious soul! As your wives lament and as your relative grieve, we think that your departure is harsh and severe. nūnaṁ kāntatarāḥ kānta paraloke varastriyaḥ | yatastvaṁ prasthito vīra vihāyemaṁ gṛhe janam ||2-31-21 O Dear! The women of the other world must be more beautiful. That is why, O Valiant! you are leaving the people of your house. kiṁ nu te kāraṇaṁ vīra bhāryāsvetāsu bhūrida | ārtanādaṁ rudantīṣu yanmohānnāvabudhyase ||2-31-22 O Valiant! What is the reason that you are not waking up from sleep even though your wives are crying loudly? aho niṣkaruṇā yātrā narāṇāmaurdhvadehikī | yatparityajya dārānsvānnirapekṣā vrajanti hi ||2-31-23 Alas! The journey to the upper world is cruel for men. They are leaving, abandoning their wives. apatitvaṁ striyāḥ śreyo na tu śūraḥ patiḥ striyāḥ | svargastrīṇāṁ priyāḥ śūrāsteṣāmapi ca tāḥ priyāḥ ||2-31-24 It is better for a woman not to have a husband. It is better for women that their husbands are not valiant. The women of heaven prefer valiant men and valiant men prefer women of heaven. aho kṣipramadṛśyena nayatāṁ tvāṁ raṇapriyam | prahṛtaṁ naḥ kṛtāntena savāsāmantarātmasu ||2-31-25 Alas! Death has quickly taken away you, who was fond of fighting. Remaining invisible, death took you away, striking our souls internally. hatvā jarāsandhabalaṁ jitvā yakṣāṁścha saṁyuge | kathaṁ mānuṣamātreṇa hatastvaṁ jagatītale ||2-31-26 You have defeated the army of jarāsandha. You won the yakṣa-s in war. How could you be killed on earth by a mere human being? indreṇā saha saṁgrāmaṁ kṛtvā sāyakavigraham | amartyairajito yuddhe martyenāsi kathaṁ hataḥ ||2-31-27 You fought with indra and destroyed the arrows. You won the immortals in war. How could you be killed by a mere human being? tvayā sāgaramakṣobhyaṁ vikṣobhya śaravṛṣṭibhiḥ | ratnasarvasvaharaṇaṁ jitvā pāśadharaṁ kṛtam ||2-31-28 You agitated the calm ocean with your shower of arrows. You won the lord of ocean and plundered the jewels. tvayā paurajanasyārthe mandaṁ varṣati vāsave | sāyakairjaladāṣjitvā balādvarṣaṁ pravartitam ||2-31-29 when vāsava (indra) was showering rain slowly, you won the rain clouds with arrows and forcefully caused good rain, for the benefit of the citizens. pratāpāvanatāḥ sarve tava tiṣṭhanti pārthivāḥ | preṣayanto varārhāṇi ratnānyāccādanāni ca ||2-31-30 All other kings remain under you. They send expensive clothes and jewels to you. tavaivaṁ devakalpasya dṛṣṭavīryasya śatrubhiḥ | kathaṁ prāṇāntakaṁ ghoramīdṛśaṁ bhayamāgatam ||2-31-31 Even the enemies considered you as valiant as devas. How could a death-causing, terrible fear like this come to you? prāptāḥ smo vidhavāśabdaṁ tvayi nāthe nipātite | apramattāḥ pramattena kṛtāntena nirākṛtāḥ ||2-31-32 As you, our lord, die, we attain widowhood. Death has made us heedless and negligent who were not so till now. yadyevaṁ nātha gantavyaṁ yadi vā vismṛtā vayam | vāṅmātreṇāpi yāmīti vaktavye kaḥ pariśramaḥ ||2-31-33 Lord! If you must go or if you want to forget us, why don't you at least try to say with words that "I am leaving"? prasīda natha bhītāḥ sma pādau te yāma mūrddhabhiḥ | alaṁ dūrapravāsena nivartasva narādhipa ||2-31-34 Lord! Be pleased with us. We are frightened. We keep our heads on your feet. O Ruler of men! Stop living at a distant place. Please return. aho vīra kathaṁ śeṣe niṣaṇṇastṛṇapāṁsuṣu | śayānasya hi te bhūmau kasmānnodvijate vapuḥ ||2-31-35 Alas! O Valiant! How are you lying on a place full of grass and dust? Is your body not hurting by lying on the earth? kena suptaprahāro'yaṁ datto'smākamatarkitaḥ | pradattaṁ kena sarvāsu nārīṣvevaṁ sudāruṇam ||2-31-36 Who struck us in sleep without thinking? Who struck this terrible blow on women? ruditānuśayo nāryā jīvantyāḥ paridevanam | kiṁ vayaṁ sati gantavye saha bhartrā rudāmahe ||2-31-37 As long as a woman (widow) lives in this world she has to cry and lament. Why are we, who should accompany our husband lamenting? etasminnantare dīnā kaṁsamātā pravepatī | kva me vatsaḥ kva me putra iti rorūyatī bhṛśam ||2-31-38 Meanwhile, kaṁsa's mother, crying and trembling, arrived there lamenting loudly, "Where is my dear child? Where is my son?" sāpaśyannihataṁ putraṁ niṣprabhaṁ śaśinaṁ yathā | hṛdayena vidīrṇena bhrāmyamāṇā punaḥ punaḥ ||2-31-39 She saw her dead son looking like a shine-less moon. She lamented again and again with a broken heart. putraṁ samabhivīkśantī hā hatāsmīti vāśatī | snuṣāṇāmārtanādena vilalāpa ruroda ca ||2-31-40 Seeing her son, she cried loudly, "I am doomed". She cried loudly along with the wives of her son who were lamenting. sā tasya vadanaṁ dīnamutsaṅge putragṛddhinī | kṛtvā putreti kāruṇyaṁ vilalāpārtayā girā ||2-31-41 Fond of her son, she lifted her son's miserable head and put it on her lap. She lamented pathetically saying "My dear son". putra śūravrate yukta jṣātīnāṁ nandivarddhana | kimidaṁ tvaritaṁ vatsa prasthānaṁ kṛtavānasi ||2-31-42 Son! You belong to the order of valiant. You increase the happiness of relatives. Why are you leaving this world quickly? prasuptaścātivivṛte kiṁ putra niyamaṁ vina | vatsa naivaṁvidhā bhūmau sherate kṛtalakṣaṇāḥ ||2-31-43 Son! Why are you sleeping in the open place without any rule? Dear child, a person of status like you does not sleep on ground like this. rāvaṇena purā gītaḥ śloko'yaṁ sādhusaṁmataḥ | balajyeṣṭhena lokeṣu rākṣasānāṁ samāgame ||2-31-44 This verse, cited long ago in the assembly of rākṣasa-s by rāvaṇa who won the worlds by force, is agreed by all good men: evamūrjitavīryasya mama devanighātinaḥ | bāndhavebhyo bhayaṁ ghoraṁ durnivāryaṁ bhaviṣyati ||2-31-45 Although I am most powerful and capable of killing the dava-s, an unavoidable terrible fear will come to me, due to relatives. tathaiva jṣātilubdhasya mama putrasya dhīmataḥ | jṣātibhyo bhayamutpannaṁ śarīrāntakaraṁ mahat |2-31-46 In the same way, my intelligent son, devoid of relatives, also faced a great fear, leading to death, from relatives. sā patiṁ bhūpatiṁ vṛddhamugrasenaṁ vichetasam | uvāca rudatī vākyaṁ vivatsā hariṇī yathā ||2-31-47 Crying like a deer who lost her child, she said the following words to her husband, aged ugrasena, the king who had lost his mind. ehyehi rājaṣchuddhātmanpaśya putraṁ janeshvaram | śayānaṁ vīraśayane vajrāhatamivācalam ||2-31-48 O pure soul! Come and see your son, the king, lying like a valiant, like a mountain struck by thunder (vajra). asya kurmo mahārāja niryāṇasadṛśīṁ kriyām | pretatvamupapannasya gatasya yamasādanam ||2-31-49 O King! Perform the suitable funeral rites for him, who is dead and who has gone to the abode of death (yama). vīrabhogyāni rājyāni vayaṁ cāpi parājitāḥ | gaccha vijṣāpyatāṁ kṛṣṇaḥ kaṁsasatkārakāraṇāt ||2-31-50 The valiant enjoy their kingdoms. We are defeated. Go and inform kṛṣṇa that arrangements for kaṁsa's funeral has to be made. maraṇāntāni vairāṇi śānte śāṁtirbhaviṣyati | pretakāryāṇi kāryāṇi mṛtaḥ kimaparādhyate ||2-31-51 All enmities cease with death. As the enemy is dead, the enmity comes to an end. The funeral rites should be performed. What is the fault of the dead? evamuktvā patiṁ bhojaṁ keśānārujya duḥkhitā | putrasya mukhamīkṣantī vilalāpaiva sā bhṛśam ||2-31-52 Speaking these words to her husband, the bhoja king, she began to pull her hair, and lamented looking at the face of her son. imāste kiṁ kariṣyanti bhāryā rājansukhoṣitāḥ | tvāṁ patiṁ supatiṁ prāpya yā vipannamanorathāḥ ||2-31-53 What will your wives do, who were living comfortably? Even though they had the best husband, all their hopes are shattered. imaṁ te pitaraṁ vṛddhaṁ kṛṣṇasya vashavartinam | kathaṁ drakṣyāmi śuṣyantaṁ kāsārasalilaṁ yathā ||2-31-54 Are you not seeing your father, the old man, looking thin like water drying up in a pond, who is under the control of kṛṣṇa? aham te jananī putra kimarthaṁ nābhibhāṣase | prasthito dīrghamadhvānaṁ parityajya priyaṁ janam ||2-31-55 Son! I am your mother. Why are you not speaking to me? You are proceeding on a long journey leaving your dear ones. aho vīrālpabhāgyāyāḥ kṛtāntenābhivartinā | ācchidya mama saṁdāyo nīyase nayakovidaḥ ||2-31-56 O Valiant! My fortune is lost. You were a lawful ruler. Death is taking away my son from me. dānamānagṛhītāni tṛptānyetāni tairguṇaiḥ | rudanti tava bhṛtyānāṁ kulāni kulayūthapa ||2-31-57 O Leader of the race! Your servants, blessed by your gifts and respect and satisfied by your qualities are lamenting. utttiṣṭha naraśārdūla dīrghabāho mahābala | trāhi dīnaṁ janaṁ sarvaṁ puramantaḥpuraṁ yathā ||2-31-58 O Tiger among men! Get up! O Long and mighty armed valiant! Protect all who are lamenting as well as the city and palace. rudatīnāṁ bhṛśārtānaṁ kaṁsastrīṇāṁ suvistaram | jagāmāstaṁ dinakaraḥ saṁdhyārāgeṇa raṣjitaḥ || 2-31-59 As the women of kaṁsa were lamenting profusely, the sun decorated by the colors of dusk, set. iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe viṣṇuparvaṇi kaṁsastrīvilāpe ekatriṁśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus this is the thirtyfirst chapter of viṣṇuparva of harivaṁśa, khila of śrimahābhārata, kaṁsa's wives express grief. (Note 1): harivaṁsa, critically edited by P.L. Vaidya Vol I, page 491 has the following footnote: N2 V1.2 B Ds ins after 15 ab, D2 after 12 aho kṛtāntasya vaśaṁ gantavyaṁ sarvajantubhiḥ | Alas! All beings should go to death (at last). The malayālam translation of this line is given in bhāṣābhārataṁ, kuṣṣikkuṭṭan taṁpurān. Vol 6, Page 429, sloka 15, DC Books (2007) nīlakaṇṭha commentary athaikatriṁśe tvadhyāye vilāpaḥ kaṁsayoṣitām | mātuścha mantraṇaṁ patyurvijṣaptiḥ kaṁsaghātinaḥ || · 2-31-1 bhartāraṁ patitaṁ dṛṣṭvetyādi | spaṣṭārthaḥ || · 2-31-37 rudite anuśayaḥ āśayo'ntaḥkaraṇaṁ ruditānuśayaḥ || iti harivaṁśe viṣṇuparvaṇi ṭīkāyāmekatriṁśo'dhyāyaḥ ||