Shloka 17

Devanagari script

चन्द्रप्रभा श्वन्द्रवर्णा: पूर्णचन्द्रनिभानना: । चन्द्रशीतलगात्र्यश्न नृत्यगीतविशारदा:,उनकी अंगकान्ति एवं वर्ण चन्द्रमाके समान है। उनके मुख पूर्णचन्द्रके समान मनोहर होते हैं। उनका एक-एक अंग चन्द्ररश्मियोंके समान शीतल प्रतीत होता है। वे नृत्य और गीतकी कलामें कुशल होती हैं

Transliteration

candraprabhāḥ śveta-varṇāḥ pūrṇa-candra-nibhānanāḥ | candra-śītala-gātryaś ca nṛtya-gīta-viśāradāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: They shine with a moonlike radiance, fair in complexion, their faces lovely like the full moon. Their limbs seem cool as moonbeams, and they are accomplished in the arts of dance and song.

Word by Word

चन्द्रप्रभाःhaving moon-like radiance

श्वेतवर्णाःwhite-complexioned

पूर्णचन्द्रनिभाननाःwhose faces are like the full moon

चन्द्रशीतलगात्र्यःwhose limbs are cool like the moon

नृत्यगीतविशारदाःskilled in dance and song

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

moon (candra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive: it uses moon-imagery to portray refined beauty and artistic accomplishment. In the epic’s ethical atmosphere, it implicitly reminds the listener how sensory allure and cultivated pleasures can coexist with, and sometimes distract from, the grave duties and moral tensions of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is narrating and describing a group of women (implicitly celestial or exceptionally beautiful performers/attendants), emphasizing their moonlike radiance, coolness, and skill in dance and song, as part of the broader battlefield narration in Bhīṣma Parva.