Shloka 65
Kubera’s Fivefold Nīti and Protection of the Pāṇḍavas (वैश्रवणोपदेशः)
सिन्धुवारांस्तथोदारान् मन्मथस्येव तोमरान् । सुवर्णवर्णकुसुमान् गिरीणां शिखरेषु च,पर्वतवोंके शिखरोंपर अधिकाधिक संख्यामें सुनहरे कुसुमोंसे सुशोभित सुन्दर शेफालिकाके- “पौधे दिखायी देते थे, जो कामदेवके तोमर नामक बाण-से प्रतीत होते थे
sindhuvārāṁs tathodārān manmathasyeva tomarān | suvarṇavarṇakusumān girīṇāṁ śikhareṣu ca ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “And there were also noble, luxuriant sindhuvāra (shephālika) plants, whose golden-hued blossoms adorned the mountain peaks—appearing like the spears (tomaras), as it were, of Manmatha (the god of love).” The verse heightens the scene’s aesthetic mood: nature itself seems to participate in the stirring of desire and wonder, contrasting the forest’s beauty with the hardships of exile and reminding the listener how the mind can be moved—uplifted or unsettled—by sense-objects.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse implicitly illustrates how sensory beauty shapes the mind: even in exile, the forest’s splendor can awaken powerful emotions (here symbolized by Manmatha). It suggests attentiveness to how perception can influence desire and inner steadiness.
The narrator describes the landscape: sindhuvāra/shephālika plants with golden blossoms are seen on mountain summits, poetically compared to Manmatha’s spears, intensifying the scene’s vivid, evocative atmosphere.