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इमां ते तरुणीं भार्यां त्वदाधिभिर् अभिप्लुताम् ॥
कथं संधारयिष्यामि विवत्साम् इव धेनुकाम् ॥
अहो ह्य् अकाले प्रस्थानं कृतवान् असि पुत्रक ॥
विहाय फलकाले मां सुगृद्धां तव दर्शने ॥
नूनं गतिः कृतान्तस्य प्राज्ञैर् अपि सुदुर्विदा ॥
यत्र त्वं केशवे नाथे संग्रामे ऽनाथवद् धतः ॥
imāṃ te taruṇīṃ bhāryāṃ tvadādhibhir abhiplutām ||
kathaṃ saṃdhārayiṣyāmi vivatsām iva dhenukām ||
aho hy akāle prasthānaṃ kṛtavān asi putraka ||
vihāya phalakāle māṃ sugṛddhāṃ tava darśane ||
nūnaṃ gatiḥ kṛtāntasya prājñair api sudurvidā ||
yatra tvaṃ keśave nāthe saṃgrāme 'nāthavad dhataḥ ||
"This young wife of yours, overwhelmed by longing for you — how shall I sustain her, like a cow bereft of her calf? Oh, my son, you have made an untimely departure, forsaking me in the season of fruit, longing to see you. Surely the path of Fate is incomprehensible even to the wise — there, where you, with Keshava as protector, were struck down in battle as if defenseless."
1c4d499a398e · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:36:52 PM UTC
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The mother's grief opens outward to her daughter-in-law — 'vivatsām iva dhenukām,' 'like a cow without her calf': her sorrow is doubled, for behind it stands also a young widow. And the peak of her bewilderment: 'keśave nāthe... anāthavat hataḥ' — with Krishna as protector, he perished as if defenseless. Here Subhadra stands almost at the very threshold of the mystery: 'gatiḥ kṛtāntasya prājñair api sudurvidā,' the path of Fate is incomprehensible even to the wise. The verse teaches humility before the inscrutability of Providence's ways: even the Lord's presence does not annul what is fated, and to a human being is given not to unravel this design, but only to bow before its depth beyond the reach of reason.