Mahabharata 3.268.63 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 268, Shloka 63

अङ्गददूतवाक्यं लङ्काप्राकारभेदनं च

Angada’s Embassy and the Breach of Laṅkā’s Ramparts

Devanagari script

तया समेत्य सौवीर सौवीराभिमुखो व्रज । कोटिक बोला--सौवीरनरेश! यह यशस्विनी राजकुमारी ट्रुपदपुत्री कृष्णा ही है

Transliteration

tayā sametya sauvīra sauvīrābhimukho vraja |

Translation

Having met with her, O king of Sauvīra, proceed facing toward Sauvīra—take the road to your own country after paying her due regard. The instruction underscores proper conduct: one should honor a virtuous and revered lady—especially one held in esteem by the righteous—before continuing one’s journey.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tayā', 'gloss': 'with her

• by/with that woman (instrumental singular of tad/ sā)'}, {'term': 'sametya', 'gloss': 'having met

• having come together (absolutive of √i/√gam with sam-)'}, {'term': 'sauvīra', 'gloss': 'O (king of) Sauvīra

• relating to the Sauvīra country/people (vocative)'}, {'term': 'sauvīrābhimukhaḥ', 'gloss': 'facing toward Sauvīra

• turned in the direction of Sauvīra (sauvīra + abhimukha)'}, {'term': 'vraja', 'gloss': 'go

Speaker

कोटिक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Koṭika
• Sauvīra (country/kingdom)
• Draupadī (Kṛṣṇā, implied by the accompanying prose)
• Pāṇḍavas (implied by the accompanying prose)
• Kuntī (implied by the accompanying prose)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse conveys dharmic etiquette: before proceeding on one’s own affairs, one should respectfully meet and honor a virtuous, revered woman—especially one esteemed by the righteous—thereby upholding social and moral order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Koṭika instructs the king of Sauvīra to meet her (contextually identified in the prose as Draupadī, the honored queen of the Pāṇḍavas) and then continue his journey toward the land of Sauvīra.