Shloka 19
Jayadratha-rakṣā: Conch Signals and Encirclement of Arjuna
Chapter 79
(उत्तरामुत्तमां जात्या सुशीलां प्रियभाषिणीम् । शनकै: परिरभ्यैनां स्नुषां मम यशस्विनीम् ।। सुकुमारी विशालाक्षीं पूर्णचन्द्रनिभाननाम् । बालपल्लवतन्वज्ीं मत्तमात्तड़गामिनीम् ।। बिम्बाधरोष्ठीमबलामभिमन्यो प्रहर्षय ।) “यह उत्तरा जातिसे उत्तम, सुशीला, प्रियभाषिणी, यशस्विनी तथा मेरी प्यारी बहू है। यह सुकुमारी है। इसके नेत्र बड़े-बड़े और मुख पूर्णिमाके चन्द्रमाकी भाँति परम मनोहर है। इसके अंग नूतन पललवोंके समान कृश हैं। यह मतवाले हाथीके समान मन्दगतिसे चलनेवाली है। इसके ओठ बिम्बफलके समान लाल हैं। बेटा अभिमन्यु! तुम मेरी इस बहूको धीरे-धीरे हृदयसे लगाकर आनन्दित करो। अहो हाकाले प्रस्थानं कृतवानसि पुत्रक । विहाय फलकाले मां सुगृद्धां तव दर्शने,“अहो वत्स! जब पुत्रके होनेका फल मिलनेका समय आया है, तब तुम मुझे अपने दर्शनोंके लिये भी तरसती हुई छोड़कर असमयमें ही चल बसे
sañjaya uvāca |
uttarām uttamāṁ jātyā suśīlāṁ priyabhāṣiṇīm |
śanakaiḥ parirabhyaināṁ snuṣāṁ mama yaśasvinīm ||
sukumārīṁ viśālākṣīṁ pūrṇacandranibhānanām |
bālapallavatanv-aṅgīṁ mattamātaṅgagāminīm ||
bimbādharauṣṭhīm abalām abhimanyu praharṣaya |
Sañjaya said: “Uttarā is noble by birth, virtuous in conduct, and gentle in speech—my illustrious and beloved daughter-in-law. She is delicate, with large eyes and a face lovely as the full moon. Her limbs are slender like fresh sprouts, and she walks with the slow, graceful gait of an intoxicated elephant. Her lips are red like the bimba fruit. O Abhimanyu, embrace my daughter-in-law softly and gladden her.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts the tenderness of household dharma—marital affection, gentleness, and the hope of progeny—with the devastation of war, implying that violence shatters not only warriors but also the moral and emotional fabric of families.
Sañjaya reports a lamenting, intimate address centered on Uttarā and Abhimanyu: Uttarā is praised in idealized poetic imagery, and Abhimanyu is urged to embrace and comfort her—an emotionally charged reminder of what is at stake amid the ongoing slaughter in the Droṇa Parva.