Shloka 16
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
पुत्रेण घातयित्वैनं पतिं यदि न मेउद्य वै जीवन्तं दर्शयस्यद्य परित्यक्ष्यामि जीवितम्,“तुम्हींने बेटेको लड़ाकर उसके द्वारा इन पतिदेवकी हत्या करवायी है। यह सब करके यदि आज तुम पुनः इन्हें जीवित करके न दिखा दोगी तो मैं भी प्राण त्याग दूँगी
putreṇa ghātayitvainam patiṁ yadi na me ’dya vai jīvantaṁ darśayasy adya parityakṣyāmi jīvitam
«Это ты подстрекнула моего сына, и его рукой велела убить моего мужа. И если после всего содеянного ты сегодня — да, сегодня же — не покажешь мне мужа живым, то и я отрекусь от жизни.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses moral accountability: one who engineers violence bears responsibility not only for the harm done but also for making amends. It also portrays the intensity of pativratā-dharma—devotion to the husband—where the wife’s sense of righteous order collapses if the husband is not restored.
A woman addresses the one she holds responsible for orchestrating her husband’s death through her son. She issues an ultimatum: unless the husband is shown alive that very day, she will give up her own life.