Shloka 4.23.27

ताराविलापः (Tārā’s Lament over Vāli)

Devanagari script

इष्ट्वा सङ्ग्रामयज्ञेन रामप्रहरणाम्भसि।अस्मिन्नवभृथे स्नातः कथं पत्न्या मया विना।।

Transliteration

iṣṭvā saṅgrāmayajñena rāmapraharaṇāmbhasi | asminn avabhṛthe snātaḥ kathaṃ patnyā mayā vinā ||

Translation

Having ‘offered’ the war-sacrifice, and bathing in the waters of Rāma’s weapon as in the concluding avabhṛtha bath—how did you bathe without me, your wife?

Context

'You have performed a war-sacrifice. You have bathed in the waters of Rama's weapon signifying the end of the sacrifice. How did you take this customary bath without me, your wife?

Characters & Entities

• Tārā
• Vāli
• Rāma

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

The verse uses sacrificial imagery to stress the gravity of violent action and its aftermath; dharma warns that war’s ‘ritual completion’ brings irreversible separation and suffering.

What is the narrative situation?

Tārā laments Vāli’s death by comparing the battle to a sacrifice, with the fatal arrow as the ‘water’ of the final bath.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Marital solidarity—Tārā’s grief is framed as the rupture of shared life and shared rites.