Shloka 32
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
सो5हमद्य गमिष्यामि गति पितृनिषेविताम् । न शव्नोम्यात्मना55त्मानमहं धारयितुं शुभे,'परंतु शुभे! अब मैं इस शरीरको धारण नहीं कर सकता। आज मैं भी उस मार्गपर जाऊँगा, जहाँ मेरे पिताजी गये हैं
so 'ham adya gamiṣyāmi gatiṁ pitṛ-niṣevitām | na śaknomy ātmanātmānam ahaṁ dhārayituṁ śubhe ||
वैशम्पायन बोले— “अतः आज मैं उसी मार्ग पर जाऊँगा, जिस पर मेरे पितर गए हैं। हे शुभे! अब मैं अपने ही बल से इस शरीर को धारण नहीं कर सकता।”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence and the limits of bodily endurance: when one’s sustaining inner strength fails, one accepts departure as a return to the ancestral course. Ethically, it frames death not as defeat but as a dignified transition aligned with lineage and dharma.
The speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) declares an imminent death: he can no longer bear the body and will go the way his forefathers went. The address “śubhe” indicates he is speaking to a woman present in the scene, conveying a final resolve and farewell.