Shloka 38
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Restraint and the Pāṇḍavas’ Authorized Return (धृतराष्ट्र-उपदेशः)
आभाति पद्मवद् वक्त्र॑ सस्वेदं मल्लिकेव च । वेदिमध्या दीर्घकेशी ताम्रास्था नातिलोमशा
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ābhāti padmavad vaktraṃ sasvedaṃ mallikeva ca | vedimadhyā dīrghakeśī tāmrāṣṭhā nātilomaśā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Ihr Antlitz leuchtet wie ein Lotos, geschmückt mit Perlen des Schweißes, und duftet wie Jasmin. Ihre Taille ist schlank wie die Mitte eines Opferaltars; ihr Haar ist lang; ihre Lippen sind kupferrot; und ihre Glieder sind nicht übermäßig behaart.“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how powerful sensory impressions (beauty, fragrance, bodily signs) can shape perception and speech; in the ethical atmosphere of the Sabha Parva, such descriptions implicitly raise questions about restraint, propriety, and the responsibility to keep desire from overruling dharma.
Yudhiṣṭhira is describing a woman’s physical features in vivid, poetic similes—lotus-like radiance, jasmine-like fragrance, a slender waist, long hair, red lips—within the courtly setting of the Sabha Parva, where appearances and desire often intersect with moral and political consequences.