Shloka 31

Devanagari script

वर्णोपपन्नास्ता नार्यों रूपवत्य: स्वलंकृता: । सर्वाश्चाभ्यभवन्‌ कृष्णा रूपेण यशसा श्रिया

Transliteration

varṇopapannāstā nāryo rūpavatyaḥ sv-alaṅkṛtāḥ | sarvāścābhyabhavan kṛṣṇā rūpeṇa yaśasā śriyā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Jene Frauen waren von angemessenem Stand und feiner Bildung, schön und reich geschmückt. An Schönheit, Ansehen und Wohlstand übertrafen sie alle Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī).

Word by Word

• वर्णोपपन्नाः: endowed with good complexion/colour
• वर्णोपपन्नाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्णोपपन्न
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• ताः: those
• ताः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• नार्यः: women
• नार्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• रूपवत्यः: beautiful
• रूपवत्यः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रूपवत्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• स्वलंकृताः: well-adorned
• स्वलंकृताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वलंकृत
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अभ्यभवन्: surpassed/excelled
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-भू
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Plural

• कृष्णाम्: Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī)
• कृष्णाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्णा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• रूपेण: by beauty/appearance
• रूपेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• यशसा: by fame
• यशसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: यशस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• श्रिया: by splendour/prosperity
• श्रिया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī)
• women (nāryaḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how social standing, adornment, fame, and prosperity can shape perception in royal settings; it implicitly contrasts external markers of excellence with the inner worth and resilience associated with Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) elsewhere in the epic.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes a group of well-born, beautifully adorned women and states that, in outward measures—beauty, renown, and fortune—they outshone Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī), setting a scene of courtly comparison within the Virāṭa episode.