Shloka 1
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
अफ--णकात अशीतितमो<्ध्याय: चित्रांगदाका विलाप, मूर्च्छासे जगनेपर बभ्रुवाहनका शोकोदगार और उलूपीके प्रयत्नसे संजीवनीमणिके द्वारा अर्जुनका पुनः जीवित होना वैशम्पायन उवाच ततो बहुतरं भीरुर्विलप्य कमलेक्षणा । मुमोह दुःखसंतप्ता पपात च महीतले,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! तदनन्तर भीरु स्वभाववाली कमलनयनी चित्रांगदा पतिवियोग-दुःखसे संतप्त होकर बहुत विलाप करती हुई मूर्च्छित हो गयी और पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ी
vaiśampāyana uvāca | tato bahutaraṃ bhīrur vilapya kamalekṣaṇā | mumoh duḥkha-santaptā papāta ca mahītale ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then the lotus-eyed Citrāṅgadā, timid by nature, lamented at great length. Scorched by the anguish of separation from her husband, she fainted and fell upon the ground. The scene underscores how even royal households are not spared the moral and emotional cost of violence and loss, and it frames grief as a natural human response that calls forth compassion and restorative action from others.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of conflict: sorrow and collapse follow separation and loss. Ethically, it invites compassion and responsible action from those who can heal or restore, rather than indifference to suffering.
After the crisis involving Arjuna (in the surrounding episode), Citrāṅgadā is overwhelmed by grief at her husband’s separation and fate; she laments intensely, faints, and falls to the ground as Vaiśampāyana narrates to King Janamejaya.