Shloka 35
Hiraṇyakaśipu’s Wrath, the Assault on Vedic Culture, and the Boy-Yamarāja’s Teaching on the Soul
एवं विलपतीनां वै परिगृह्य मृतं पतिम् । अनिच्छतीनां निर्हारमर्कोऽस्तं सन्न्यवर्तत ॥ ३५ ॥
evaṁ vilapatīnāṁ vai parigṛhya mṛtaṁ patim anicchatīnāṁ nirhāram arko ’staṁ sannyavartata
এনেদৰে বিলাপ কৰি ৰাণীসকলে মৃত স্বামীক কোলাত ধৰি ৰাখিলে আৰু দেহ আঁতৰাই নিবলৈ নিদিলে। দাহ-সংস্কাৰৰ সময় উপযুক্ত আছিল; কিন্তু তেনেতে সূৰ্য পশ্চিমত অস্ত গ’ল।
According to the Vedic system, if a person dies during the daytime it is customary for his funeral ceremony to be performed before the sun sets, regardless of whether he is burned or buried, and if he dies at night the funeral must be completed before the next sunrise. Apparently the queens continued lamenting for the dead body, the lump of matter, and would not allow it to be taken away for burning. This illustrates the strong grip of illusion among foolish persons who consider the body the self. Women are generally considered less intelligent. Because of ignorance only, the queens thought of the dead body as their husband and somehow or other thought that if the body were kept their husband would remain with them. Such a conception of the self is certainly for go-khara — cows and asses. We have actually seen that sometimes when a cow’s calf has died the milkman cheats the cow by presenting before her the dead body of her calf. Thus the cow, who would not otherwise allow milking, licks the dead body of the calf and allows herself to be milked. This substantiates the description of the śāstra that a foolish man in the bodily concept of life is like a cow. Not only do foolish men and women consider the body the self, but we have even seen that the dead body of a so-called yogī was kept for days by his disciples, who thought that their guru was in samādhi. When decomposition began and a bad smell unfortunately began to overwhelm the yogic power, the disciples allowed the dead body of the so-called yogī to be burned. Thus the bodily concept of life is extremely strong among foolish persons, who are compared to cows and asses. Nowadays, great scientists are trying to freeze dead bodies so that in the future these frozen bodies may again be brought to life. The incident narrated by Hiraṇyakaśipu from history must have taken place millions of years ago because Hiraṇyakaśipu lived millions of years ago and was even then quoting from history. Thus the incident occurred before Hiraṇyakaśipu’s lifetime, but the same ignorance in the bodily concept of life is still prevalent, not only among laymen but even among scientists who think they will be able to revive frozen corpses.
FAQs
This verse portrays intense, natural lamentation—family members embracing the dead—while also showing how time moves on inexorably as the sun sets, reminding readers of life’s impermanence.
Hiraṇyākṣa is being mourned after his death; the scene sets the emotional and narrative background for Hiraṇyakaśipu’s subsequent anger and hostility toward Viṣṇu and His devotees.
Allow grief to be felt, but remember that time continues; grounding oneself in dharma and devotion helps one process loss without being consumed by it.