Shloka 41
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
वैशमग्पायन उवाच प्रायोपविष्टे नृपती मणिपूरेश्वरे तदा । पितृशोकसमाविष्टे सह मात्रा परंतप
Vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca: prāyopaviṣṭe nṛpatī Maṇipūreśvare tadā | pitṛśoka-samāviṣṭe saha mātrā parantapa ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: At that time, O scorcher of foes, when the king of Maṇipura—overwhelmed by grief for his father—sat down with his mother, having undertaken the vow of fasting unto death, Ulūpī remembered the Saṃjīvanamaṇi, the life-sustaining jewel of the Nāgas; and the moment she recalled it, that jewel came there.
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral complexity of responding to grief: a ruler may seek expiation through self-denial (fasting unto death), yet dharma also allows compassionate, rightful means to preserve life—especially when life can be restored without deceit or injustice.
Babhruvāhana, king of Maṇipura, stricken by grief for his father, sits with his mother undertaking a fast unto death. Ulūpī intervenes by recalling the Saṃjīvanamaṇi, the Nāgas’ life-restoring jewel, which immediately arrives.