SB 10.53.23 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.53.23

अहो त्रियामान्तरित उद्वाहो मेऽल्पराधस: । नागच्छत्यरविन्दाक्षो नाहं वेद्‍म्यत्र कारणम् । सोऽपि नावर्ततेऽद्यापि मत्सन्देशहरो द्विज: ॥ २३ ॥

aho tri-yāmāntarita

[aho tri-yaamaantarita]

udvāho me ’lpa-rādhasaḥ

[udvaaho me ’lpa-raadhasah]

nāgacchaty aravindākṣo

[naagachchaty aravindaaksho]

nāhaṁ vedmy atra kāraṇam

[naaham vedmy atra kaaranam]

so ’pi nāvartate ’dyāpi

[so ’pi naavartate ’dyaapi]

mat-sandeśa-haro dvijaḥ

[mat-sandesha-haro dvijah]

Word-for-word

aho — alas tri - yāma — three yāmas (nine hours), i.e., the night antaritaḥ — having ended udvāhaḥ — the marriage me — of me alpa — insufficient rādhasaḥ — whose good fortune na āgacchati — does not come aravinda - akṣaḥ — lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa na — do not aham — I vedmi — know atra — for this kāraṇam — the reason saḥ — he api — also na āvartate — does not return adya api — even now mat — my sandeśa — of the message haraḥ — the carrier dvijaḥ — the brāhmaṇa. .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

aho tri-yāmāntarita

aho

alas

tri - yāma

three yāmas (nine hours), i.e., the night

antaritaḥ

having ended

udvāho me ’lpa-rādhasaḥ

udvāhaḥ

the marriage

of me

alpa

insufficient

rādhasaḥ

whose good fortune

nāgacchaty aravindākṣo

na āgacchati

does not come

aravinda - akṣaḥ

lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa

nāhaṁ vedmy atra kāraṇam

do not

aham

vedmi

know

atra

for this

kāraṇam

the reason

so ’pi nāvartate ’dyāpi

mat-sandeśa-haro dvijaḥ

saḥ

api

also

na āvartate

does not return

adya api

even now

mat

sandeśa

of the message

haraḥ

the carrier

dvijaḥ

the brāhmaṇa. .

Important Words

tri - yāma — three yāmas (the night)
Compound: tri (three) + yāma (a three-hour watch). The Sanskrit night is three yāmas of three hours each; Rukmiṇī is counting them. Gauḍīya texts on smaraṇa-sādhana use the same yāma-divisions to organize aṣṭa-kāla bhajana.
alpa - rādhasaḥ — whose good fortune is insufficient
Compound: alpa (little) + rādhas (gift, success, also a root playfully near 'Rādhā'). The bride laments her 'small rādhas.' Caitanya-caritāmṛta-style commentators savor that Rukmiṇī's fortune is small only because she is not yet visibly with Hari — the fortune itself is on its way.
aravinda - akṣaḥ — the lotus-eyed
Compound: aravinda (lotus) + akṣa (eye). One of Kṛṣṇa's standard epithets in the SB. Rukmiṇī's calling Him by His beauty-name even in her lament shows her bhāva: even in viraha she names what she loves about Him.

[Princess Rukmiṇī thought:] Alas, my wedding is to take place when the night ends! How unlucky I am! Lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa does not come. I don’t know why. And even the brāhmaṇa messenger has not yet returned.

Purport

It is apparent from this verse, as confirmed by Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, that the present scene takes place before sunrise.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

[Princess Rukmiṇī thought:] Alas, my wedding is to take place when the night ends! How unlucky I am! Lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa does not come. I don't know why. And even the brāhmaṇa messenger has not yet returned.

Commentary

Before the sunrise, because of eagerness and fear, Rukmini began to worry. "This night of three yamas has finished. Tomorrow night is the fixed time for the wedding of this most unfortunate woman."

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Oh (aho)! She laments. Tri-yāma (nine hours) indicates a small amount of time. It is my bad luck Kṛṣṇa has not come, that I have not met him. There can be no other cause than my misfortune since he has all powers and protects those who surrender to him. That is also the cause of the brāhmaṇa not returning. If the merciful brāhmaṇa does not return, I will have to give up my life.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Oh (aho)! She laments. She is most unfortunate because Kṛṣṇa delays in coming. He does not come. The present tense is used to express the past to indicate that he must come. His lotus eyes destroy all suffering. I do not understand the reason why he has not come since he is endowed with all powers and he is affectionate to his devotees. Because he is completely independent, he will not come. Why would the brāhmaṇa return?

Related values & verses

Related values

Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)Bhakti (Devotion)Tejas (Inner Radiance / Vigour)

Concepts

Jiva

Related lectures

Padaseva Pr Seminars Oriya - SB 10-53-23
His Grace Padaseva Prabhu· Oriya

Personal Guidance

Alas, my wedding is at night's end! Unlucky me — lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa doesn't come, and the brāhmaṇa hasn't returned. The bride names her circumstances; honest naming of perceived bad luck is permitted in scripture.

Reflection Questions

Where do you suppress 'alas' when scripture grants it as legitimate speech?
How does naming unluckiness coexist with continued faith?

Analogy

A lamp lit before dawn, watching the wick gutter, hearing footsteps that never come. Rukmiṇī counts the yāmas — the night-watches of the bhakta's prayer, the calendar of separation. Vipralambha is bhakti's higher rasa precisely because absence sharpens the heart.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io