Text 10
abhidravati mām īśa
śaras taptāyaso vibho
kāmaṁ dahatu māṁ nātha
mā me garbho nipātyatām
abhidravati — coming towards; mām — me; īśa — O Lord; śaraḥ — the arrow; tapta — fiery; ayasaḥ — iron; vibho — O great one; kāmam — desire; dahatu — let it burn; mām — me; nātha — O protector; mā — not; me — my; garbhaḥ — embryo; nipātyatām — be aborted.
O my Lord, You are all-powerful. A fiery iron arrow is coming towards me fast. My Lord, let it burn me personally, if You so desire, but please do not let it burn and abort my embryo. Please do me this favor, my Lord.
This incident took place after the death of Abhimanyu, the husband of Uttarā. Abhimanyu’s widow, Uttarā, should have followed the path of her husband, but because she was pregnant, and Mahārāja Parīkṣit, a great devotee of the Lord, was lying in embryo, she was responsible for his protection. The mother of a child has a great responsibility in giving all protection to the child, and therefore Uttarā was not ashamed to express this frankly before Lord Kṛṣṇa. Uttarā was the daughter of a great king, the wife of a great hero, and student of a great devotee, and later she was the mother of a good king also. She was fortunate in every respect.