Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 56
Hiraṇyakaśipu’s Wrath, the Assault on Vedic Culture, and the Boy-Yamarāja’s Teaching on the Soul
एवं कुलिङ्गं विलपन्तमारात् प्रियावियोगातुरमश्रुकण्ठम् । स एव तं शाकुनिक: शरेण विव्याध कालप्रहितो विलीन: ॥ ५६ ॥
evaṁ kuliṅgaṁ vilapantam ārāt priyā-viyogāturam aśru-kaṇṭham sa eva taṁ śākunikaḥ śareṇa vivyādha kāla-prahito vilīnaḥ
Kerana perpisahan dengan pasangannya, burung kuliṅga meratap dengan tekak tersekat dan mata berlinang. Ketika itu, menurut ketentuan masa, pemburu yang bersembunyi jauh melepaskan anak panah yang menembusnya hingga mati.
FAQs
This verse shows how intense attachment and lamentation over a loved one leaves one vulnerable; in the very moment of grief, Time (kāla) brings inevitable death through the hunter.
It teaches that behind visible causes (like a hunter’s arrow) stands the higher force of Kāla—inevitable time that brings the results of karma and ends embodied life.
Cultivate devotion and inner detachment: love without possessiveness, remember life’s impermanence, and prioritize spiritual practice so sudden reversals do not destroy one’s balance.