Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.16.52
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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anugṛhṇīṣva
—
please show mercy
Imperative of anu+√grah. The wives ask outright. Anugraha is the same word that organized verses 33–34's theology; now it is the spoken request.
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sādhu - śocyānām
—
(women) worthy of compassion from the saintly
Compound: sādhu (saintly) + śocya (object of compassion). The Vaiṣṇava ethical reflex: the saintly cannot turn away from women in distress. The wives appeal to this dharma.
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patiḥ - prāṇaḥ
—
(our) husband, (our) life-breath
Apposition: pati = prāṇa. The wife's life is in her husband; without him she does not breathe. Bhāgavata recognizes this dependence as itself a sacred bond worthy of Bhagavān's intervention.
"I have diagnosed his disease and given the treatment. He is now cured, but in order to wipe out the remnants of disease I must stamp on his head seven or eight times more. You should permit this." "By giving him this strong medicine of punishment--some more mercy to purify him of all fault-- he may die, for he has already come to the stage of departing from his body." "What does it matter if he gives up this snake body? What can he do with this body? Better that he get a spiritual body as my devotee." "If we beautiful women become widows we will be engaged by force to enjoy with another sinful snake. But Kaliya has now become a vaisnava, and become our very life, an object of affection."
“What should I do?” Forgive him. It is proper to show him mercy. Why? O most merciful Lord (bhagavān)! Or, O lord full of knowledge! You know your great mercy, the power of your māyā, and the misery of us jīvas. Do this quickly. He is about to die. Or, remember your promise: annaṁ hi prāṇināṁ prāṇa ārtānāṁ śaraṇaṁ tv aham: food is the life of all creatures and I am the ultimate shelter for the distressed. (SB 11.26.33) Then do not show mercy to him but show mercy to us. We are women, in a lamentable position because we have no independence. They show their pitiful situation. Or, restore his life in such a way that he will not longer commit offenses (sādhu). Restore his life with excellence, with no injuries (pra—dīyatām).
- What concrete petition have I been avoiding because it feels too small or too embarrassing?
- Whose 'life-and-soul' am I asking the Lord to spare today by name?
Be merciful, Bhagavān. It is fitting for the saintly to be compassionate to women like us. This serpent is dying; please give us back our husband — he is our life and breath. The wives' last plea: not theology, just need. They ask as women, as wives, as bodies that breathe through another body.
My note
Source: vedabase.io