Shloka 19

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 53: Arjuna’s Jayadratha-vadha Pratijñā and Droṇa’s Protective Vyūha (शकटा-पद्म व्यूहः)

Devanagari script

सा निःसृत्य तथा खेभ्यो दक्षिणां दिशमाश्रिता । स्मयमाना च सावेक्ष्य देवी विश्वेश्वरावुभी,वह उनकी इन्द्रियोंसे निकलकर दक्षिण दिशामें खड़ी हुई और उन दोनों देवताओं एवं जगदीश्वरोंकी ओर देखकर मन्द-मन्द मुसकराने लगी

Transliteration

sā niḥsṛtya tathā khebhyo dakṣiṇāṃ diśam āśritā | smayamānā ca sāvekṣya devī viśveśvarāv ubhī ||

Translation

Ainsi sortie de leurs sens, la Déesse prit place vers le sud. Souriante doucement, elle regarda ces deux divinités—seigneurs de l’univers—avec un calme empreint de connaissance.

Word by Word

साshe

निःसृत्यhaving come out

तथाthus, in that manner

खेभ्यःfrom the senses (lit. from the 'khas'/sense-organs)

दक्षिणाम्southern

दिशम्direction

आश्रिताhaving resorted to / having taken (a position)

स्मयमानाsmiling

चand

सावेक्ष्यhaving looked at, having glanced at

देवीthe goddess

विश्वेश्वरौthe two lords of the universe

उभौboth

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Devī (the Goddess)

two deities referred to as Viśveśvarau (lords of the universe)

Dakṣiṇā diś (southern direction)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the supremacy and autonomy of divine śakti: the Goddess is not constrained by others’ faculties or powers, and her composed smile suggests mastery, intentionality, and the unfolding of destiny beyond ordinary control.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada describes the Goddess emerging from the deities’ senses and moving to the southern quarter, then smiling and looking back at both ‘lords of the universe,’ a gesture that reads as a portent and a decisive shift in the scene’s power-dynamics.