Balarama's Lament at Prabhasa

Verse 1 (3.120.1)

प्रभासतीर्थमासाद्यपाण्डवा वृष्णयस्तथा । किमकुर्वन्कथाश्चैषां कास्तत्रासंस्तपोधन ॥

prabhāsatīrthamāsādyapāṇḍavā vṛṣṇayastathā | kimakurvankathāścaiṣāṃ kāstatrāsaṃstapodhana

When the Pandavas and the Vrishnis had reached the tirtha of Prabhasa, what did they do, and what talk passed between them there, O rich in austerity?

Verse 2 (3.120.2)

ते हि सर्वे महात्मानः सर्वशास्त्रविशारदाः । वृष्णयः पाण्डवाश्चैव सुहृदश्चपरस्परम् ॥

te hi sarve mahātmānaḥ sarvaśāstraviśāradāḥ | vṛṣṇayaḥ pāṇḍavāścaiva suhṛdaścaparasparam

For all of them — the Vrishnis and the Pandavas alike — were great-souled, learned in every science, and friends to one another.

Verse 3 (3.120.3)

प्रभासतीर्थं संप्राप्य पुण्यं तीर्थं महोदधेः । वृष्णयः पाण्डवान्वीराः परिवार्योपतस्थिरे ॥

prabhāsatīrthaṃ saṃprāpya puṇyaṃ tīrthaṃ mahodadheḥ | vṛṣṇayaḥ pāṇḍavānvīrāḥ parivāryopatasthire

Having come to Prabhasa, the holy tirtha of the great ocean, the heroic Vrishnis gathered around the Pandavas and waited upon them.

Verse 4 (3.120.4)

ततो गोक्षीरकुन्देन्दुमृणालरजतप्रभः । वनमाली हली रामो बभाषे पुष्करेक्षणम् ॥

tato gokṣīrakundendumṛṇālarajataprabhaḥ | vanamālī halī rāmo babhāṣe puṣkarekṣaṇam

Then Rama, wearing his garland of wild flowers and bearing the plough, bright as cow's milk, jasmine, the moon, lotus fibre and silver, spoke to the lotus-eyed Krishna:

Note on the text: Corrected मृणआल → मृणाल (misprint in Wikisource; broken vowel sign; the critical edition reads mṛṇāla).

Verse 5 (3.120.5)

न कृष्ण धर्मश्चरितो भवाय । जन्तोरधर्मश्च पराभवाय । युधिष्ठिरो यत्रजटी महात्मा । वनाश्रयः क्लिश्यति चीरवासाः ॥

na kṛṣṇa dharmaścarito bhavāya | jantoradharmaśca parābhavāya | yudhiṣṭhiro yatrajaṭī mahātmā | vanāśrayaḥ kliśyati cīravāsāḥ

Krishna, dharma practised does not lead a creature to prosperity, nor adharma to ruin — for here is the great-souled Yudhishthira, with matted hair, living in the forest and suffering, clad in bark.

Verse 6 (3.120.6)

दुर्योधनश्चापि महीं प्रशास्ति । न चास्य भूमिर्विवरं ददाति । धर्मादधर्मश्चरितो वरीया- । नितीव मन्येत नरोऽल्पबुद्धिः ॥

duryodhanaścāpi mahīṃ praśāsti | na cāsya bhūmirvivaraṃ dadāti | dharmādadharmaścarito varīyā- | nitīva manyeta naro'lpabuddhiḥ

And Duryodhana rules the earth, and the earth does not open to swallow him. A man of little understanding might well think that adharma practised counts for more than dharma.

Verse 7 (3.120.7)

दुर्योधने चापि विवर्धमाने । युधिष्ठिरे चासुख आत्तराज्ये । हृतस्वराज्यायतनार्थभार्ये । दुर्योधनेनाल्पधिया च पार्थे । किं न्वद्य कर्तव्यमिति प्रजाभिः । शङ्का मिथः संजनिता नराणाम् ॥

duryodhane cāpi vivardhamāne | yudhiṣṭhire cāsukha āttarājye | hṛtasvarājyāyatanārthabhārye | duryodhanenālpadhiyā ca pārthe | kiṃ nvadya kartavyamiti prajābhiḥ | śaṅkā mithaḥ saṃjanitā narāṇām

With Duryodhana thriving, and Yudhishthira wretched, his kingdom taken — Partha robbed of his own kingdom, his home, his wealth and his wife by the small-minded Duryodhana — the people ask, "What should we do now?", and doubt has risen among men, one with another.

Note on the text: Restored from the critical edition (3.119.7a–c, with star passage 582* for the third and fourth lines): Wikisource prints only the last line, numbered 7f, which shows that five lines of a six-line verse were lost. Lines 1, 2 and 5 are CE 3.119.7a, 7b and 7c; lines 3–4 are the vulgate couplet the CE gives as 582* after 7b, which accounts for the six lines the "f" implies; line 6 is the surviving Wikisource line (= CE 7d).

Verse 8 (3.120.8)

अयं स धर्मप्रभवो नरेन्द्रो । धर्मे धृतः सत्यधृतिः प्रदाता । चलेद्धि राज्याच्च सुखाच्च पार्थो । धर्मादपेतस्तु कथं विवर्धेत् ॥

ayaṃ sa dharmaprabhavo narendro | dharme dhṛtaḥ satyadhṛtiḥ pradātā | caleddhi rājyācca sukhācca pārtho | dharmādapetastu kathaṃ vivardhet

This king, born of Dharma, is firm in dharma, steadfast in truth and generous. Partha may fall from his kingdom and from happiness — but one who has turned from dharma, how could he ever prosper?

Verse 9 (3.120.9)

कथं नु भीष्मश्च कृपश्च विप्रो । द्रोणश्च राजा च कुलस्य वृद्धः । प्रव्राज्य पार्थान्सुखमाप्नुवन्ति । धिक्पापबुद्धीन्भरतप्रधानान् ॥

kathaṃ nu bhīṣmaśca kṛpaśca vipro | droṇaśca rājā ca kulasya vṛddhaḥ | pravrājya pārthānsukhamāpnuvanti | dhikpāpabuddhīnbharatapradhānān

How can Bhishma, and Kripa the brahmin, and Drona, and the king who is the elder of the family, live at ease after banishing the sons of Pritha? Shame on these leaders of the Bharatas, with their wicked minds!

Note on the text: Corrected सुमाप्नुवन्ति → सुखमाप्नुवन्ति (misprint in Wikisource; dropped akshara; the critical edition reads sukham āpnuvanti).

Verse 10 (3.120.10)

किंनाम वक्ष्यत्यवनिप्रधानः । पितॄन्समागम्य परत्र पापः । पुत्रेषु सम्यक्चरितं मयेति । पुत्रानपापान्व्यपरोप्य राज्यात् ॥

kiṃnāma vakṣyatyavanipradhānaḥ | pitṝnsamāgamya paratra pāpaḥ | putreṣu samyakcaritaṃ mayeti | putrānapāpānvyaparopya rājyāt

What will that sinful chief of the land say when he meets his fathers in the next world — "I dealt rightly with my sons" — when he has thrust his sinless sons out of their kingdom?

Note on the text: Corrected पितृडन् → पितॄन् (misprint in Wikisource; garbled long ṝ; the critical edition reads pitṝn) and सम्यक्वरितं → सम्यक्चरितं (misprint; व for च; the critical edition reads samyak caritaṃ).

Verse 11 (3.120.11)

नासौ धिया संप्रति पश्यति स्म । किंनाम कृत्वाऽहमचक्षुरेवम् । जातः पृथिव्यामिति पार्थिवेषु । प्रव्राज्यकौन्तेयमिति स्म राज्यात् ॥

nāsau dhiyā saṃprati paśyati sma | kiṃnāma kṛtvā'hamacakṣurevam | jātaḥ pṛthivyāmiti pārthiveṣu | pravrājyakaunteyamiti sma rājyāt

He does not consider in his mind, "What did I do, that I was born blind like this on the earth, among kings?" — nor what will come of his having banished Kunti's son from the kingdom.

Verse 12 (3.120.12)

नूनं समृद्धान्पितृलोकभूमौ । चामीकराभान्क्षितिजान्प्रफुल्लान् । विचित्रवीर्यस्य सुतः सपुत्रः । कृत्वा नृशंसं वत पश्यति स्म ॥

nūnaṃ samṛddhānpitṛlokabhūmau | cāmīkarābhānkṣitijānpraphullān | vicitravīryasya sutaḥ saputraḥ | kṛtvā nṛśaṃsaṃ vata paśyati sma

Surely, alas, the son of Vichitravirya and his sons, having done this cruel deed, now see the trees of the earth in the land of the dead, rich, in full bloom and gleaming like gold.

Verse 13 (3.120.13)

व्यूढोत्तरांसान्पृथुलोहिताक्षा- । निमान्स्म पृच्छन्स शृणोति नूनम् । प्रास्थापयद्यत्स वनं सशङ्को । युधिष्ठिरं सानुजमात्तशस्त्रम् ॥

vyūḍhottarāṃsānpṛthulohitākṣā- | nimānsma pṛcchansa śṛṇoti nūnam | prāsthāpayadyatsa vanaṃ saśaṅko | yudhiṣṭhiraṃ sānujamāttaśastram

Surely, when he asks after these men with their broad, high shoulders and wide red eyes, he hears it said that he himself, in his fear, sent Yudhishthira and his armed brothers away to the forest.

Note on the text: Corrected निमाम्स्म → निमान्स्म (misprint in Wikisource; म for the न of the accusative इमान्; the critical edition has the negative reading nemān sma).

Verse 14 (3.120.14)

योऽयं परेषां पृतनां समृद्धां । निरायुधो दीर्घभुजो निहन्यात् । श्रुत्वैव शब्दं हि वृकोदरस्य । मुञ्चन्ति सैन्यानि शकृत्समूत्रम् ॥

yo'yaṃ pareṣāṃ pṛtanāṃ samṛddhāṃ | nirāyudho dīrghabhujo nihanyāt | śrutvaiva śabdaṃ hi vṛkodarasya | muñcanti sainyāni śakṛtsamūtram

This long-armed man could destroy a rich army of enemies without any weapon; at the mere sound of Vrikodara's roar, armies void their dung and urine.

Note on the text: Corrected परषां → परेषां (misprint in Wikisource; dropped vowel sign; the critical edition reads pareṣāṃ).

Verse 15 (3.120.15)

स क्षुत्पिपासाध्वकृशस्तरस्वी । समेत्य नानायुधबाणपाणिः । वने स्मरन्वासमिमं सुघोरं । शेषं न कुर्यादिति निश्चितं मे ॥

sa kṣutpipāsādhvakṛśastarasvī | sametya nānāyudhabāṇapāṇiḥ | vane smaranvāsamimaṃ sughoraṃ | śeṣaṃ na kuryāditi niścitaṃ me

Worn thin by hunger, thirst and travel, when that mighty man meets them with weapons and arrows of every kind in his hands, remembering this dreadful life in the forest, he will leave nothing remaining — of that I am certain.

Verse 16 (3.120.16)

न ह्यस्य वीर्येण बलेन कश्चि- । त्समः पृथिव्यामपि विद्यतेऽन्यः । स शीतवातातपकर्शिताङ्गो । न शेषमाजावसुहृत्सु कुर्यात् ॥

na hyasya vīryeṇa balena kaści- | tsamaḥ pṛthivyāmapi vidyate'nyaḥ | sa śītavātātapakarśitāṅgo | na śeṣamājāvasuhṛtsu kuryāt

For there is no one else on earth his equal in valour and strength. His limbs worn by cold, wind and sun, he will leave none of his foes remaining in battle.

Note on the text: Corrected ह्यस् → ह्यस्य (misprint in Wikisource; dropped akshara; the critical edition reads hy asya).

Verse 17 (3.120.17)

प्राच्यां नृपानेकरथेन जित्वा । वृकोदरः सानुचरान्रणेषु । स्वस्त्यागमद्योऽतिरथस्तरस्वी । सोऽयं वने क्लिश्यति चीरवासाः ॥

prācyāṃ nṛpānekarathena jitvā | vṛkodaraḥ sānucarānraṇeṣu | svastyāgamadyo'tirathastarasvī | so'yaṃ vane kliśyati cīravāsāḥ

Vrikodara, the great chariot-warrior, who with a single chariot conquered the kings of the east and their followers in battle and came home safe — that mighty man now suffers in the forest, clad in bark.

Note on the text: Corrected सोयं → सोऽयं (misprint in Wikisource; missing avagraha; the critical edition reads so 'yaṃ).

Verse 18 (3.120.18)

यः सिन्धुकूले व्यजयन्नृदेवा- । न्समागतान्दाक्षिणात्यान्महीपान् । तं पश्यतेमं सहदेवमद्य । तरस्विनं तापसवेषरूपम् ॥

yaḥ sindhukūle vyajayannṛdevā- | nsamāgatāndākṣiṇātyānmahīpān | taṃ paśyatemaṃ sahadevamadya | tarasvinaṃ tāpasaveṣarūpam

Look at this Sahadeva today, the mighty one who on the shore of the Sindhu conquered the kings of the south assembled there — now in the dress and guise of an ascetic.

Verse 19 (3.120.19)

यः पार्थिवानेकरथेन वीरो । दिशं प्रतीचीं प्रतियुद्धशौण्डः । जिग्ये रणे तं नकुलं वनेऽस्मि- । न्संपश्यतैनं मलदिग्धगात्रम् ॥

yaḥ pārthivānekarathena vīro | diśaṃ pratīcīṃ pratiyuddhaśauṇḍaḥ | jigye raṇe taṃ nakulaṃ vane'smi- | nsaṃpaśyatainaṃ maladigdhagātram

The hero who, keen for battle, conquered with a single chariot the kings of the western quarter — see that Nakula here in this forest, his body smeared with dirt.

Note on the text: Corrected प्रत्नि → प्रति (misprint in Wikisource; stray न्; the critical edition reads prati yuddhaśauṇḍaḥ). The first two lines are CE 3.119.19ab; the last two are not in the CE's text but in its apparatus (star passage 583*, reading vaneṣu and a different last line) in place of CE 3.119.19c.

Verse 20 (3.120.20)

सत्रे समृद्धेऽतिरथस्य राज्ञो । वेदीतलादुत्पतिता सुता या । सेयं वने वासमिमं सुदुःखं । कथं सहत्यद्य सती सुखार्हा ॥

satre samṛddhe'tirathasya rājño | vedītalādutpatitā sutā yā | seyaṃ vane vāsamimaṃ suduḥkhaṃ | kathaṃ sahatyadya satī sukhārhā

The daughter who rose from the altar at the rich sacrifice of King Drupada, the great chariot-warrior — how does this virtuous lady, who deserves happiness, now bear this most painful life in the forest?

Verse 21 (3.120.21)

त्रिवर्गमुख्यस्य समीरणस्य । देवेश्वरस्याप्यथवाऽश्विनोश्च । एषां सुराणां तनयाः कथंनु । वने चरन्त्यस्तसुखाः सुखार्हाः ॥

trivargamukhyasya samīraṇasya | deveśvarasyāpyathavā'śvinośca | eṣāṃ surāṇāṃ tanayāḥ kathaṃnu | vane carantyastasukhāḥ sukhārhāḥ

The sons of the gods — of Dharma, chief of life's three aims, of the Wind, of the Lord of the gods and of the two Ashvins — how do these, who deserve happiness, wander in the forest, bereft of all happiness?

Note on the text: Corrected मुख्यस् → मुख्यस्य (misprint in Wikisource; dropped akshara; the critical edition reads trivargamukhyasya).

Verse 22 (3.120.22)

जिते हि धर्मस्य सुते सभार्ये । सभ्रातृके सानुचरे निरस्ते । दुर्योधने चापि विवर्धमाने । कथं न सीदत्यवनिः सशैला ॥

jite hi dharmasya sute sabhārye | sabhrātṛke sānucare niraste | duryodhane cāpi vivardhamāne | kathaṃ na sīdatyavaniḥ saśailā

When the son of Dharma has been defeated and driven out with his wife, his brothers and his followers, and Duryodhana prospers, how is it that the earth with its mountains does not sink down?