Mahabharata — Svargarohana Parva, 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 ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: O Janamejaya! Si Śrī Kṛṣṇa, ang anak ni Vasudeva—bahagi ng walang-hanggang Nārāyaṇa, ang Diyos na higit sa mga diyos—matapos ganapin ang tungkulin ng Kaniyang paglusong sa daigdig, ay muling pumasok sa Kaniyang tunay na anyo. Pagkaraan, ayon sa pag-ikot ng panahon, ang labing-anim na libong kababaihang naging mga asawa ni Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) ay tumalon sa Ilog Sarasvatī at tinapos ang kanilang buhay.
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.