Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 56
Hiraṇyakaśipu’s Wrath, the Assault on Vedic Culture, and the Boy-Yamarāja’s Teaching on the Soul
एवं कुलिङ्गं विलपन्तमारात् प्रियावियोगातुरमश्रुकण्ठम् । स एव तं शाकुनिक: शरेण विव्याध कालप्रहितो विलीन: ॥ ५६ ॥
evaṁ kuliṅgaṁ vilapantam ārāt priyā-viyogāturam aśru-kaṇṭham sa eva taṁ śākunikaḥ śareṇa vivyādha kāla-prahito vilīnaḥ
Because of the loss of his wife, the kuliṅga bird lamented with tears in his eyes. Meanwhile, following the dictations of mature time, the hunter, who was very carefully hidden in the distance, released his arrow, which pierced the body of the kuliṅga bird and killed him.
FAQs
This verse shows how intense attachment and lamentation over a loved one leaves one vulnerable; in the very moment of grief, Time (kāla) brings inevitable death through the hunter.
It teaches that behind visible causes (like a hunter’s arrow) stands the higher force of Kāla—inevitable time that brings the results of karma and ends embodied life.
Cultivate devotion and inner detachment: love without possessiveness, remember life’s impermanence, and prioritize spiritual practice so sudden reversals do not destroy one’s balance.