शयनीयं पुरा यस्य स्पर्ध्यास्तरणसंवृतम् ॥
भूमाव् अद्य कथं शेषे विप्रविद्धः सुखोचितः ॥
यो ऽन्वास्यत पुरा वीरो वरस्त्रीभिर् महाभुजः ॥
कथम् अन्वास्यते सो ऽद्य शिवाभिः पतितो मृधे ॥
यो ऽस्तूयत पुरा हृष्टैः सूतमागधबन्दिभिः ॥
सो ऽद्य क्रव्याद्गणैर् घोरैर् विनदद्भिर् उपास्यते ॥
śayanīyaṃ purā yasya spardhyāstaraṇasaṃvṛtam ||
bhūmāv adya kathaṃ śeṣe vipraviddhaḥ sukhocitaḥ ||
yo 'nvāsyata purā vīro varastrībhir mahābhujaḥ ||
katham anvāsyate so 'dya śivābhiḥ patito mṛdhe ||
yo 'stūyata purā hṛṣṭaiḥ sūtamāgadhabandibhiḥ ||
so 'dya kravyādgaṇair ghorair vinadadbhir upāsyate ||
"Whose bed once was spread with priceless coverings — how now do you lie upon the ground, sprawled, accustomed to ease? Whom once, the mighty-armed hero, the fairest wives attended — how is he now, fallen in battle, encircled by she-jackals? Whom of old the joyful bards, magadhas and heralds glorified — he now is surrounded by dread howling packs of flesh-eaters."
477da422057a · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:36:52 PM UTC
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The mother repeats the same threefold reversal as the father: the bed with priceless coverings turned to bare earth, fair wives turned to she-jackals, bards turned to howling beasts of prey. But the mother's lament dwells on 'sukhocitaḥ,' 'accustomed to ease' — she nursed this body in comfort, and its desecration is thus all the more unbearable. It is telling that love measures loss through former tenderness. The verse teaches that the deepest grief is born from the contrast between past love and present desecration: the more a child was cherished, the louder the injustice of his lonely death on the battlefield cries out.