Shloka 16

Adhyāya 14: Sudēṣṇā Sends Sairandhrī to Kīcaka’s House (सुदेष्णा–सैरन्ध्री–कीचक संवादः)

Devanagari script

लक्ष्मी: पद्मालया का त्वमथ भूति: सुमध्यमे । ह्वी: श्री: कीर्तिरथो कान्तिरासां का त्वं वरानने

Transliteration

lakṣmīḥ padmālayā kā tvam atha bhūtiḥ sumadhyame | hrīḥ śrīḥ kīrtir atho kāntir āsāṃ kā tvaṃ varānane ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O slender-waisted lady, who are you? Are you Lakṣmī who dwells in the lotus, or are you Bhūti (manifest prosperity)? O fair-faced one—among these goddesses, Hrī (modesty), Śrī (splendor/fortune), Kīrti (renown), and Kānti (radiance)—which one are you?”

Word by Word

• लक्ष्मीः: Lakṣmī (goddess of fortune)
• लक्ष्मीः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष्मी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• पद्मालयाः: the lotus-dwelling one
• पद्मालयाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद्मालय
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• का: who?
• का: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• अथ: or/then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• भूतिः: prosperity; manifest glory
• भूतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूति
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• सुमध्यमे: O slender-waisted one
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुमध्यमा
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• ह्रीः: modesty; shame (personified)
• ह्रीः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ह्री
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• श्रीः: splendor; Śrī (goddess)
• श्रीः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• कीर्तिः: fame (personified)
• कीर्तिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कीर्ति
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• अथो: or else/and also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• कान्तिः: beauty; radiance (personified)
• कान्तिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कान्ति
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• आसाम्: of these (feminine ones)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• का: which? who?
• का: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• वरानने: O fair-faced one
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वरानना
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Lakṣmī
• Bhūti
• Hrī
• Śrī
• Kīrti
• Kānti

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how true excellence is perceived as a convergence of virtues—prosperity, modesty, splendor, good fame, and radiance—suggesting that ethical qualities (like hrī) are integral to what society recognizes as ‘fortune’ and ‘beauty,’ not merely external appearance.

What is happening in the narrative?

A narrator’s voice (Vaiśampāyana) reports someone addressing an exceptionally impressive woman, so striking that she is compared to Lakṣmī and other personified virtues; the speaker asks which divine quality she embodies.