Shloka 16
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 21 — Kīcaka’s clandestine approach and Bhīma’s covert intervention (नर्तनागारे कीचकवध-प्रसङ्गः)
यथैता:ः कीर्तिता नार्यो रूपवत्य: पतिव्रता: । तथा त्वमपि कल्याणि सर्व: समुदिता गुणै:,कल्याणि! इन रूपवती पतिव्रता नारियोंका जैसा आदर्श बताया गया है, उसी प्रकार तुम भी समस्त सदगुणोंसे सम्पन्न हो
yatha etāḥ kīrtitā nāryo rūpavatyaḥ pativratāḥ | tathā tvam api kalyāṇi sarvā samuditā guṇaiḥ ||
“Just as these women have been spoken of as beautiful and steadfast in wifely fidelity, so too, O auspicious lady, you are likewise endowed with every virtue.”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds an ethical ideal of guṇa (virtue) and pativratā-dharma (steadfast marital fidelity), presenting moral excellence as something recognized and affirmed through respectful speech.
Bhīmasena addresses an unnamed woman respectfully as “kalyāṇi,” comparing her to exemplary women previously described as beautiful and devoted, and declares that she too is fully endowed with virtues.