Shloka 17
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
साहं दुःखान्विता देवि पतिपुत्रविनाकृता । इहैव प्रायमाशिपष्ये प्रेक्षन्त्यास्ते न संशय:
sāhaṃ duḥkhānvitā devi patiputravinākṛtā | ihaiva prāyam āśiṣye prekṣantyās te na saṃśayaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô déesse, privée à la fois d’époux et de fils, je suis submergée de chagrin. Aussi, ici même—sous tes yeux—j’entreprendrai le prāya (jeûne jusqu’à la mort) ; il n’y a là aucun doute.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension between overwhelming personal grief and the choice of a drastic vow (prāya/fast unto death). It highlights how bereavement can drive a person toward renunciation-like acts, raising questions about dharma, endurance, and the limits of self-harm as a response to suffering.
A bereaved woman, having lost both husband and son, declares to the addressed ‘devī’ that she will begin a fast unto death immediately, in that very place and in the other’s presence, asserting her resolve as certain.