Shloka 233
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
दुर्मरं पुरुषेणेह मन्ये हुध्वन्यनागते । “चौड़ी छाती और विशाल भुजावाले अपने पतिको मारा गया देखकर भी जो मेरी माता चित्रांगदा देवीका दृढ़ हृदय विदीर्ण नहीं हो जाता है। इससे मैं यह मानता हूँ कि अन्तकाल आये बिना मनुष्यका मरना बहुत कठिन है
durmaraṃ puruṣeṇeha manye hūdhvanyanāgate | cauḍī-chātī ca viśāla-bhujāvāle svaṃ patiṃ hatam ālokya api yā me mātā citrāṅgadā devī dṛḍha-hṛdayā na vidīryate | tasmād idaṃ manye—antakāla āyāty eva vinā manuṣyasya maraṇaṃ atidurlabham iti ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “I consider it exceedingly hard for a man to die here before his destined time has arrived. Even after seeing her own husband slain—broad-chested and mighty-armed—my mother, the goddess Citrāṅgadā, steadfast of heart, does not break apart in grief. From this I conclude that without the coming of one’s final hour, death does not readily befall a human being.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Death is portrayed as governed by an appointed time (antakāla): without that destined moment arriving, even extreme causes for collapse—such as witnessing a loved one slain—do not necessarily destroy a person. The verse emphasizes the limits of human control and the primacy of fate/karma in the timing of death.
Vaiśampāyana comments on the difficulty of dying before one’s time, using an example from his own family: his mother Citrāṅgadā remains unbroken even after seeing her mighty husband killed. Her resilience becomes evidence for the claim that death does not come until the final hour arrives.