FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.14.54

अहो विधातस्त्वमतीव बालिशो यस्त्वात्मसृष्ट्यप्रतिरूपमीहसे । परे नु जीवत्यपरस्य या मृति- र्विपर्ययश्चेत्त्वमसि ध्रुव: पर: ॥ ५४ ॥
aho vidhātas tvam atīva bāliśo
[aho vidhaatas tvam ateeva baalisho]
yas tv ātma-sṛṣṭy-apratirūpam īhase
[yas tv aatma-srishty-apratiroopam eehase]
pare nu jīvaty aparasya yā mṛtir
[pare nu jeevaty aparasya yaa mritir]
viparyayaś cet tvam asi dhruvaḥ paraḥ
[viparyayash chet tvam asi dhruvah parah]
aho — alas (in great lamentation) vidhātaḥ — O Providence tvam — You atīva — very much bāliśaḥ — inexperienced yaḥ — who tu — indeed ātma-sṛṣṭi — of Your own creation apratirūpam — just the opposite īhase — You are performing and desiring pare — while the father or the elder nu — indeed jīvati — is living aparasya — of one who was born later yā — which mṛtiḥ — death viparyayaḥ — contradictory cet — if tvam — You asi — are dhruvaḥ — indeed paraḥ — an enemy.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
aho vidhātas tvam atīva bāliśo
aho
alas (in great lamentation)
vidhātaḥ
O Providence
tvam
You
atīva
very much
bāliśaḥ
inexperienced
yas tv ātma-sṛṣṭy-apratirūpam īhase
yaḥ
who
tu
indeed
ātma-sṛṣṭi
of Your own creation
apratirūpam
just the opposite
īhase
You are performing and desiring
pare nu jīvaty aparasya yā mṛtir
pare
while the father or the elder
nu
indeed
jīvati
is living
aparasya
of one who was born later
yā
which
mṛtiḥ
death
viparyayaś cet tvam asi dhruvaḥ paraḥ
viparyayaḥ
contradictory
cet
if
tvam
You
asi
are
dhruvaḥ
indeed
paraḥ
an enemy.
Alas, O Providence, O Creator, You are certainly inexperienced in creation, for during the lifetime of a father You have caused the death of his son, thus acting in opposition to Your creative laws. If You are determined to contradict these laws, You are certainly the enemy of living entities and are never merciful.

This is the way a conditioned soul condemns the supreme creator when he meets reverses. Sometimes he accuses the Supreme Personality of Godhead of being crooked because some people are happy and some are not. Here the Queen blames supreme providence for her son’s death. Following the creative laws, a father should die first and then his son. If the creative laws are changed according to the whims of providence, then providence certainly should not be considered merciful, but must be considered inimical to the created being. Actually it is not the creator, but the conditioned soul who is inexperienced. He does not know how the subtle laws of fruitive activity work, and without knowledge of these laws of nature, he ignorantly criticizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O Creator! You are certainly inexperienced in creation, for during the lifetime of a father you have caused the death of his son, thus acting in opposition to your laws of creation. If you are determined to contradict these laws, you are certainly our enemy. The cause of lamentation is the Lord. The cause of him doing this is his foolishness. She gives the Lord some advice for his own benefit, so that he will not do as he has done again. The Lord is inexperienced, childish, because he has made his own creation improperly (apratirūpam). “How is it improper?” While the elder lives, the child dies. There is a problem in the creation if the elders cannot create and the children die. If you think that now you will do everything in an opposite way during creation, then you are certainly our enemy (paraḥ). Doing what is wrong for you to do, you also show that you are inimical to us by making us suffer.
She accuses Providence: 'You caused the death of a son in his father's lifetime — contradicting Your creative laws.' Grief talks back to God; it is part of the conversation.
Reflection Questions
  • Have I let myself talk back to God when something seemed unjust?
  • Could anger at God be a higher worship than silence?
📝 My note

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