Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.66.26
राज्ञ: काशीपतेर्ज्ञात्वा महिष्य: पुत्रबान्धवा: ।
पौराश्च हा हता राजन् नाथ नाथेति प्रारुदन् ॥ २६ ॥
rājñaḥ kāśī-pater jñātvā
[raajnah kaashee-pater jnaatvaa]
mahiṣyaḥ putra-bāndhavāḥ
[mahishyah putra-baandhavaah]
paurāś ca hā hatā rājan
[pauraash cha haa hataa raajan]
nātha nātheti prārudan
[naatha naatheti praarudan]
Word-for-word
rājñaḥ
—
of the King
kāśī - pateḥ
—
the lord of Kāśī
jñātvā
—
recognizing
mahiṣyaḥ
—
his queens
putra
—
his sons
bāndhavāḥ
—
and other relatives
paurāḥ
—
the citizens of the city
ca
—
and
hā
—
alas
hatāḥ
—
(we are) killed
rājan
—
O King (Parīkṣit)
nātha nātha
—
O master, master
iti
—
thus
prārudan
—
they cried out loud .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
rājñaḥ kāśī-pater jñātvā
rājñaḥ
of the King
kāśī - pateḥ
the lord of Kāśī
jñātvā
recognizing
mahiṣyaḥ putra-bāndhavāḥ
mahiṣyaḥ
his queens
putra
his sons
bāndhavāḥ
and other relatives
paurāś ca hā hatā rājan
paurāḥ
the citizens of the city
ca
and
hā
alas
hatāḥ
(we are) killed
rājan
O King (Parīkṣit)
nātha nātheti prārudan
nātha nātha
O master, master
iti
thus
prārudan
they cried out loud .
Important Words
-
mahiṣyaḥ
—
his queens
Plural of mahiṣī (chief queen). The first to mourn — Bhāgavatic protocol of women's lament (cf. SB 1.10.10 where the Yadu women weep when Kṛṣṇa departs, and SB 1.13 where Gāndhārī weeps over the Kuru sons). Vyāsa sees grief as foremost a woman's word.
-
hā hatāḥ
—
alas, (we are) killed
Phrase: hā (alas) + hatāḥ (killed). Idiomatic lamentation. The bereaved identify with the dead — 'we are killed' — because the king's life was the people's life. Gauḍīyas read this collective subjectivity as the everyday version of the gopīs' identification with Kṛṣṇa in His absence.
-
nātha nātha
—
O master, master
Vocative doubled: 'O lord, O lord.' Nātha = protector. The same word the Vaiṣṇavas reserve for Kṛṣṇa (Gopīnātha, Jagannātha). Here it is spilled on a fallen mortal king — Gauḍīyas read the pathos as a quiet correction: nāthatva belongs to Bhagavān alone; mortal nāthas all fall.
-
prārudan
—
they cried out loud
Imperfect plural of pra-√rud (to weep forth). Audible, communal lament. The whole city's grief becomes verbal. Vyāsa lets the sound of weeping fill the verse before he proceeds to Sudakṣiṇa's vow in the next.
-
bāndhavāḥ
—
other relatives
Plural of bāndhava (kinsman, friend by binding). From the same root as bandhana (verse 24's 'bondage'). Gauḍīyas catch the verbal echo: while Pauṇḍraka's bondage was shattered by his death, the Kāśī family's bandhus weep — they are bound, he was unbound. The chapter is a study in bondage's geometry.
My dear King, when they recognized it as the head of their King — the lord of Kāśi — his queens, sons and other relatives, along with all the citizens of the city, began to cry pitifully: “Alas, we are killed! O my lord, my lord!”
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
My dear King, when they recognized it as the head of their King—the lord of Kāśi—his queens, sons and other relatives, along with all the citizens of the city, began to cry pitifully: "Alas, we are killed! O my lord, my lord!"
Jīva Gosvāmī
Gauḍīya
Commentary
They cried, “We have also been killed!”
Śrīdhara Svāmī
Gauḍīya
Commentary
When they recognized the head, they cried out loudly because they were his queens. What did they say? “O king! Our master! We have been killed.” Out of grief the queens then cried.
Related values & verses
Concepts
Jiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The queens and citizens of Kāśī cried out at recognizing their fallen king. Material relationships, however dear, end in grief when their basis is mortal. The verse quietly invites a deeper loyalty.
Reflection Questions
- Where am I building lasting hopes on impermanent foundations?
- How can I honor relationships fully while keeping Kṛṣṇa as my deepest anchor?
Analogy
When a banner falls in a city, every dependent under that banner mourns at once — the queens, the sons, the marketwomen, the night-watchman. Kāśī's grief over Kāśirāja's head is the Bhāgavata's reminder that politics is not abstract; one head's removal grieves a thousand chests.
My note
Source: vedabase.io