Shloka 18
Adhyāya 14: Sudēṣṇā Sends Sairandhrī to Kīcaka’s House (सुदेष्णा–सैरन्ध्री–कीचक संवादः)
“क्या तुम कामदेवके अंगोंसे क्रीड़ा करनेवाली अतिशय रूपवती रति हो? सुभ्रु! तुम चन्द्रमाकी परम उत्तम प्रभाके समान अत्यन्त उद्भासित हो रही हो ।।
api cekṣaṇapakṣmāṇāṁ smitaṁ jyotsnopamaṁ śubham | divyāṁśuraśmibhir vṛttaṁ divyakāntimanoramam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Are you Rati, the exceedingly beautiful one who sports with the limbs of Kāmadeva? O fair-browed lady, you blaze like the finest radiance of the moon. Your half-lowered eyelids and your auspicious smile are like moonlight, delighting the mind. Encircled by divine rays, your moon-like face is captivating with a celestial radiance. Seeing it, what man in the whole world would not fall under the sway of desire?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how sensory beauty can overpower self-control, implicitly warning that desire (kāma) can seize the mind when one is captivated by outward charm; ethical steadiness requires vigilance over the senses.
Vaiśampāyana narrates a scene of admiration in which a woman’s beauty is described through lunar imagery—moonlight-like smile and radiant face—suggesting that any man who beholds her would be stirred by desire.