FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.53.23

అహో త్రియామాన్తరిత ఉద్వాహో మేఽల్పరాధస: । నాగచ్ఛత్యరవిన్దాక్షో నాహం వేద్‍మ్యత్ర కారణమ్ । సోఽపి నావర్తతేఽద్యాపి మత్సన్దేశహరో ద్విజ: ॥ ౨౩ ॥
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]
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
me
of me
alpa
insufficient
rādhasaḥ
whose good fortune
nāgacchaty aravindākṣo
na āgacchati
does not come
aravinda - akṣaḥ
lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa
nāhaṁ vedmy atra kāraṇam
na
do not
aham
I
vedmi
know
atra
for this
kāraṇam
the reason
so ’pi nāvartate ’dyāpi
mat-sandeśa-haro dvijaḥ
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. .
  • 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.

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
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
Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)Bhakti (Devotion)Tejas (Inner Radiance / Vigour)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva

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.

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