Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 15

Pradyumna’s Abduction, Mahā-māyā, and the Slaying of Śambara

Devanagari script

परीशोचति ते माता कुररीव गतप्रजा । पुत्रस्‍नेहाकुला दीना विवत्सा गौरिवातुरा ॥ १५ ॥

Transliteration

parīśocati te mātā kurarīva gata-prajā putra-snehākulā dīnā vivatsā gaur ivāturā

Translation

你可怜的母亲失去爱子，像失雏的鸻鸟般哀鸣哭泣。她被慈爱之情搅动而憔悴，恰如失去小牛的母牛般痛苦。

Synonyms

• परीशोचति: grieves greatly
• परीशोचति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + शुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ते: your
• ते: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यम-पुरुष-सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• माता: mother
• माता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कुररी-इव: like a kurarī-bird
• कुररी-इव: Adverbial (उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुररी (प्रातिपदिक) + इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-प्रयोग; इव (अव्यय—उपमा/particle)

• गत-प्रजा: bereft of offspring
• गत-प्रजा: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत (गम् धातु, क्त-कृदन्त) + प्रजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि—‘गता प्रजा यस्याः सा’ (one whose offspring are gone)

• पुत्र-स्नेह-आकुला: distressed with affection for her son
• पुत्र-स्नेह-आकुला: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + स्नेह (प्रातिपदिक) + आकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (पुत्रे स्नेहेन आकुला)

• दीना: wretched
• दीना: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विवत्सा: without her calf
• विवत्सा: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विवत्स (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘without a calf’

• गौः: a cow
• गौः: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• इव: like
• इव: Connector (उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—उपमा (particle of comparison)

• आतुरा: afflicted
• आतुरा: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आतुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Characters & Entities

• Rukmiṇī
• Śrī Kṛṣṇa
• Rukmī (implied as her brother)
• Rukmiṇī’s mother (unnamed)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about a mother’s grief in separation from her child?

This verse compares a grieving mother to a bird that has lost its young and a cow separated from its calf, showing the intense pain of separation (viraha) in human relationships.

Why did Rukmiṇī say this to Śrī Kṛṣṇa?

In her message, Rukmiṇī describes the sorrow in her family—especially her mother’s anguish—urging Kṛṣṇa to understand the urgency and seriousness of her situation and to rescue her from an unwanted marriage.

Practical application of this teaching in modern life?

The verse highlights how deep attachment brings intense suffering in separation; it encourages compassion toward grieving families and reminds devotees to seek steadiness by anchoring love in the Divine.