Shloka 55

Sudeva Identifies Damayantī in Cedi (सुदेवेन दमयन्ती-परिचयः)

Devanagari script

मानुषीं मां विजानीहि भर्तारं समनुव्रताम्‌ सैरन्ध्रीजातिसम्पन्नां भुजिष्यां कामवासिनीम्‌

Transliteration

mānuṣīṁ māṁ vijānīhi bhartāraṁ samanuvratām | sairandhrījātisampannāṁ bhujisyāṁ kāmavāsinīm ||

Translation

“মাতা, মোক মানৱী নাৰী বুলিয়েই জানিব—মই স্বামীৰ প্ৰতি নিত্যনিষ্ঠা পালন কৰা পতিব্ৰতা। মই সাইৰন্ধ্ৰী জাতিৰ, নাৰীসেৱাৰ কৰ্মত নিপুণ; পৰাধীন দাসী, আনৰ ইচ্ছামতে বাস কৰোঁ।”

Word by Word

मानुषीम्human (woman)

माम्me

विजानीहिknow/recognize

भर्तारम्husband

समनुव्रताम्faithfully following (her husband), devoted

सैरन्ध्री-जाति-सम्पन्नाम्endowed with the status/caste of a hairdresser/maid (sairandhrī)

भुजिष्याम्female servant/handmaid

कामवासिनीम्dwelling at will/as desired; living where she pleases

Speaker

बृहदश्चव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bṛhadaśva

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames dharma through self-description: a woman presents herself as devoted to her husband and willing to accept a dependent role. It highlights ideals of fidelity (samanuvratā) and the ethical posture of humility and restraint while living under another’s authority.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker identifies herself as a mortal woman of the sairandhrī type—an attendant/maid—emphasizing her dependent status and that she lives according to others’ wishes. This functions as a social positioning (and often, in the epic’s narrative texture, a way to explain one’s place and safety within a household).