Shloka 3
Omens in the Kuru Host and Droṇa’s Recognition of Arjuna (क्लीबवेषधारी पार्थ-परिज्ञानम्)
सा हस्तिहस्तोपमसंहितोरू: स्वनिन्दिता चारुदती सुमध्यमा । आसाद्य तं वै वरमाल्यधारिणी पार्थ शुभा नागवधूरिव द्विपम्,उसकी परस्पर सटी हुई जाँघें हाथीकी सूँड़के समान सुशोभित होती थीं, दाँत चमकीले और मनोहर थे। शरीरका मध्यभाग बड़ा सुहावना था। वह अनिन््द्य-सुन्दरी सुन्दर हार धारण किये उन कुन्तीनन्दन अर्जुनके पास पहुँचकर गजराजके समीप गयी हुई हथिनीके समान शोभा पा रही थी
sā hastihastopamasaṃhitōrūḥ svaninditā cārudatī sumadhyamā | āsādya taṃ vai varamālyadhāriṇī pārtha śubhā nāgavadhūr iva dvipam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: With thighs held close together, lovely like an elephant’s trunk, flawless and sweet-voiced, slender-waisted and beyond reproach, she—wearing an excellent garland—approached Pārtha (Arjuna). In her auspicious beauty she shone, like a young she-elephant drawing near a mighty tusker.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds auspicious conduct and irreproachable character (aninditā) alongside refined speech (cārudatī). In epic ethics, outer beauty is presented as harmonious with inner propriety, and the simile underscores dignified approach rather than aggression or impropriety.
A woman adorned with a fine garland approaches Arjuna (Pārtha). The narrator describes her physical grace through an elephant simile—like a young she-elephant nearing a powerful tusker—emphasizing her auspicious presence and the charged, courtly moment of approach.