Shloka 2
Omens and Consolation after Loss; Reaffirmation of the Saindhava Punishment Vow (उत्पात-दर्शनम्, आश्वासन-वाक्यानि, प्रतिज्ञा-स्थैर्यम्)
नारदजी कहते हैं--राजन्! तदनन्तर वह अबला अपने भीतर ही उस दुःखको दबाकर झुकायी हुई लताके समान विनम्र हो हाथ जोड़कर ब्रह्माजीसे बोली ।। मृत्युरुवाच त्वया सृष्टा कथं नारी ईदृशी वदतां वर । क्रूरं कर्माहितं कुर्या तदेव किमु जानती,मृत्युने कहा--वक्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ प्रजापते! आपने मुझे ऐसी नारीके रूपमें क्यों उत्पन्न किया? मैं जान-बूझकर वही क्रूरतापूर्ण अहितकर कर्म कैसे करूँ?
nārada uvāca—rājan! tadanantaraṃ sā abalā svāntar eva taṃ duḥkhaṃ nigūhya namrā latā iva vinatā bhūtvā karābhyāṃ añjaliṃ kṛtvā brahmāṇam uvāca. mṛtyur uvāca—tvayā sṛṣṭā kathaṃ nārī īdṛśī vadatāṃ vara? krūraṃ karma ahitaṃ kuryā tad eva kimu jānati?
Narada said: “O King! After that, the helpless one, suppressing her sorrow within, became humble like a bowed creeper; with folded hands she addressed Brahmā.” Death said: “O best of speakers, O Prajāpati! Why did you create me in the form of such a woman? How could I knowingly perform that very cruel and harmful act?”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral tension: even a cosmic function like Death is portrayed as reluctant to commit cruelty knowingly. It highlights that harmful action is ethically weighty, and that the maintenance of cosmic order (creation, dissolution) can conflict with compassion—inviting reflection on dharma as duty performed without malice.
Narada narrates that a distressed female figure—identified as Mṛtyu (Death) in the next line—approaches Brahmā with folded hands. Death questions Brahmā about being created in a female form and expresses reluctance to carry out the cruel, harmful act associated with her role (bringing death).