Shloka 23
ताराविलापः
Tara’s Lament and Counsel after Vali’s Fall
क्रतुल्यपराक्रान्तं वृष्टवेवोपरतं घनम्।नर्दन्तं नर्दतां भीमं शूरं शूरेण पातितम्।।शार्दूलेनामिषस्यार्थे मृगराजं यथाहतम्।
śakratulyaparākrāntaṃ vṛṣṭavā evoparataṃ ghanam | nardantaṃ nardatāṃ bhīmaṃ śūraṃ śūreṇa pātitam || śārdūlenāmiṣasyārthe mṛgarājaṃ yathāhatam |
Vāli—dont la vaillance égalait celle d’Indra—gisait abattu, tel un vaste nuage apaisé après avoir versé sa pluie ; l’effrayant héros, fameux parmi les rugissants, avait été terrassé par un autre héros—comme un lion tué par un tigre pour la chair.
Tara got up again, as if she woke up from sleep and addressing her husband garlanded with death, lamented.
FAQs
The verse underscores impermanence and the limits of might: even Indra-like power ends in death. Dharma therefore cannot rest on strength alone; it must rest on right conduct, because power is transient.
A vivid poetic description of Vāli’s fallen body after he has been struck down.
Heroism (śaurya) is acknowledged, but the verse also stresses sobriety: greatness does not exempt one from the moral and mortal order.