Shloka 9
Brahmāstra-pratisaṃhāraḥ, Parīkṣit-nāmakaraṇam, Nagarotsava-varṇanam
Withdrawal of the Brahmāstra; Naming of Parīkṣit; Description of Civic Festivities
“वत्स! परलोकमें जाकर तू अपने पितासे मेरी यह बात कहना--“वीर! अन्तकाल आये बिना प्राणियोंके लिये किसी तरह भी मरना बड़ा कठिन होता है। तभी तो मैं यहाँ आप-जैसे पति तथा इस पुत्रसे बिछुड़कर भी जब कि मुझे मर जाना चाहिये, अबतक जी रही हूँ; मेरा सारा मंगल नष्ट हो गया है। मैं अकिंचन हो गयी हूँ” ।। अथवा धर्मराज्ञाहमनुज्ञाता महाभुज | भक्षयिष्ये विष घोरें प्रवेक्ष्ये वा हुताशनम्,“महाबाहो! अब मैं धर्मराजकी आज्ञा लेकर भयानक विष खा लूँगी अथवा प्रज्वलित अग्निमें समा जाऊँगी
vaiśampāyana uvāca | vatsa, paralokaṁ gatvā tvaṁ pituḥ mama imāṁ vācaṁ vada— “vīra, antakāla āyātam vinā prāṇināṁ kathaṁcid api maraṇaṁ mahad duṣkaram. tata eva aham iha tvādṛśena patinā anena ca putreṇa viyuktā satī, yady api mama maraṇam ucitam, adyāpi jīvāmi; mama sarvaṁ maṅgalaṁ naṣṭam. aham akiñcanā jātā.” athavā dharmarājñāham anuñātā, mahābāho, bhakṣayiṣye viṣaṁ ghoraṁ, pravekṣye vā hutāśanam.
Vaiśampāyana said: “My child, when you go to the next world, convey this message of mine to your father: ‘O hero, without the arrival of one’s destined final hour, it is exceedingly hard for living beings to die by any means. That is why, though I have been separated here from a husband like you and from this son, and though I ought to have died, I still live on; all my auspiciousness has been destroyed, and I have become utterly destitute.’ Or else, O mighty-armed one, having obtained permission from Dharmarāja, I shall consume dreadful poison or enter the blazing fire.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the Mahābhārata’s idea that death is governed by one’s destined time (antakāla): without that appointed moment, even intense suffering does not easily end life. It also frames self-destruction as an ethically weighty act, presented here as something sought only after seeking Dharmarāja’s authorization, highlighting the primacy of dharma and social-royal sanction in extreme decisions.
A grieving woman, speaking through a message to be delivered to her deceased husband in the afterlife, laments that she remains alive despite losing husband and son and despite feeling she should have died. In despair, she declares that she will seek Dharmarāja’s permission and then either drink poison or enter fire.