Shloka 32
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
सो5हमद्य गमिष्यामि गति पितृनिषेविताम् । न शव्नोम्यात्मना55त्मानमहं धारयितुं शुभे,'परंतु शुभे! अब मैं इस शरीरको धारण नहीं कर सकता। आज मैं भी उस मार्गपर जाऊँगा, जहाँ मेरे पिताजी गये हैं
so 'ham adya gamiṣyāmi gatiṁ pitṛ-niṣevitām | na śaknomy ātmanātmānam ahaṁ dhārayituṁ śubhe ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Therefore, today I shall depart along the path once trodden by my forefathers. O auspicious lady, I am no longer able to sustain myself—by my own inner strength I cannot continue to bear this body.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence and the limits of bodily endurance: when one’s sustaining inner strength fails, one accepts departure as a return to the ancestral course. Ethically, it frames death not as defeat but as a dignified transition aligned with lineage and dharma.
The speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) declares an imminent death: he can no longer bear the body and will go the way his forefathers went. The address “śubhe” indicates he is speaking to a woman present in the scene, conveying a final resolve and farewell.