Shloka 25
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
वे जो नारायण नामसे प्रसिद्ध सनातन देवाधिदेव हैं उन्हींके अंश वसुदेवनन्दन श्रीकृष्ण थे, जो अवतारका कार्य पूरा करके पुन: अपने स्वरूपमें प्रविष्ट हो गये ।।
ṣoḍaśa strīsahasrāṇi vāsudevaparigrahaḥ | amajjantāḥ sarasvatyāṃ kālena janamejaya ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: Ó Janamejaya! Śrī Kṛṣṇa, o filho de Vasudeva—uma porção de Nārāyaṇa, o eterno Deus acima dos deuses—tendo cumprido a obra de sua encarnação, tornou a entrar em sua própria forma. Depois, com o curso do Tempo, as dezesseis mil mulheres que haviam sido consortes de Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) lançaram-se ao rio Sarasvatī e puseram fim às suas vidas.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the power of Kāla (time) and impermanence: once the divine mission is complete and the Lord withdraws, worldly bonds and supports dissolve, and human lives—overwhelmed by loss and circumstance—move toward an inevitable end. It frames the episode as part of cosmic closure rather than triumph or blame.
After Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s departure from the world, his sixteen thousand women (his household/consorts) later plunge into the Sarasvatī river and die. Vaiśampāyana narrates this to King Janamejaya as one of the final unravelings that follow the end of the Yādava era and the completion of Kṛṣṇa’s avatāra-work.