Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 67
Kṛṣṇa’s Impending Departure; Uddhava’s Surrender; King Yadu and the Avadhūta’s Twenty-Four Gurus
Beginnings
कपोत: स्वात्मजान् बद्धानात्मनोऽप्यधिकान् प्रियान् । भार्यां चात्मसमां दीनो विललापातिदु:खित: ॥ ६७ ॥
kapotaḥ svātmajān baddhān ātmano ’py adhikān priyān bhāryāṁ cātma-samāṁ dīno vilalāpāti-duḥkhitaḥ
Seeing his own children, who were more dear to him than life itself, fatally bound in the hunter’s net along with his dearmost wife, whom he considered equal in every way to himself, the poor male pigeon began to lament wretchedly.
FAQs
This verse shows how intense attachment to wife and children can overwhelm the mind with grief and lead one into bondage, illustrating the need for detachment and higher shelter.
He sees his children caught in a trap and his wife also in danger; considering them dearer than his own life, he becomes helpless and collapses into lamentation.
Love and responsibility can be honored, but one should avoid possessive attachment; cultivate spiritual steadiness so that fear and grief do not control one’s decisions.