Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तदवैक्षत पाञ्चाली दिव्यगन्धं॑ मनोरमम्‌ । अनिलेनाहतं भूमौ पतितं जलजं शुचि,जनमेजय! वह कमल बड़ा मनोरम था, उससे दिव्य सुगन्ध फैल रही थी। शुभलक्षणा द्रौपदीने उसे देखा और वायुके द्वारा लाकर पृथ्वीपर डाले हुए उस पवित्र, शुभ एवं परम उत्तम सौगन्धिक कमलके पास पहुँचकर अत्यन्त प्रसन्न हो भीमसेनसे इस प्रकार कहा --

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: tad avaikṣata pāñcālī divyagandhaṃ manoramam | anilenāhataṃ bhūmau patitaṃ jalajaṃ śuci, janamejaya |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Then Draupadī of Pāñcāla noticed a lovely lotus, fragrant with a divine perfume. O Janamejaya, it had been struck and carried by the wind and had fallen upon the ground—pure and auspicious. Seeing it, the virtuous Draupadī approached that sacred, excellent Saugandhika lotus with great delight, and then spoke to Bhīmasena.

Word by Word

• {'tad': 'then

• that (at that moment)', 'avaikṣata': 'she saw

• she beheld', 'pāñcālī': 'the lady of Pāñcāla

• Draupadī', 'divya-gandham': 'having divine fragrance

• celestial-scented', 'manoramam': 'charming

• beautiful', 'anilena': 'by the wind', 'āhatam': 'struck

• impelled', 'bhūmau': 'on the ground

• upon the earth', 'patitam': 'fallen

• dropped', 'jalajam': 'water-born

• lotus', 'śuci': 'pure

• sacred', 'janamejaya': 'O Janamejaya (address to the listener-king)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Janamejaya
• Pāñcālī (Draupadī)
• Anila (wind)
• Jalaja (lotus)
• Saugandhika lotus (implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights attentiveness to auspicious signs and the pull of desire toward rare, beautiful objects; ethically, it sets up the need to balance longing with discernment, since such attractions can lead to trials that test dharma and self-control.

What is happening in the narrative?

Draupadī notices a pure, divinely fragrant lotus that the wind has blown down to the ground. Delighted, she approaches it, and this sight becomes the immediate trigger for her to address Bhīma, leading into the well-known Saugandhika-lotus quest.