Shloka 16
Omens and Consolation after Loss; Reaffirmation of the Saindhava Punishment Vow (उत्पात-दर्शनम्, आश्वासन-वाक्यानि, प्रतिज्ञा-स्थैर्यम्)
अपसत्याप्रतिश्रुत्य प्रजासंहरणं तदा । त्वरमाणा च राजेन्द्र मृत्युर्थेनुकमभ्यगात्,राजेन्द्र! उस समय प्रजाका संहार करनेके विषयमें कोई प्रतिज्ञा न करके मृत्यु वहाँसे हट गयी और बड़ी उतावलीके साथ धेनुकाश्रममें जा पहुँची
apasatyāpratiśrutya prajāsaṁharaṇaṁ tadā | tvaramāṇā ca rājendra mṛtyur dhenu-kāśramam abhyagāt ||
Nārada said: “At that time, without making any pledge to bring about the destruction of the people, Death withdrew from there; and, O best of kings, in great haste she went to the hermitage of Dhenu.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical restraint grounded in satya (truth): even when destruction is possible, action should not be initiated through falsehood or an improper pledge. It implies that righteous order constrains power, including the power of Death.
Nārada narrates that Death, without undertaking a vow to destroy the populace, withdraws from the current scene and hastens to Dhenu’s hermitage, signaling a shift in the story’s setting and the unfolding of the next destined event.