Shloka 18
Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha
Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site
सुभगा लम्बनी लम्बा ताम्रचूडा विकाशिनी । ऊर्ध्ववेणीधरा चैव पिड़ाक्षी लोहमेखला
subhagā lambanī lambā tāmracūḍā vikāśinī | ūrdhvaveṇīdharā caiva piḍākṣī lohamekhalā ||
વૈશમ્પાયન બોલ્યા—તે સુભગા હતી; લંબની અને લાંબી; તામ્રચૂડા, વિકાશિની; ઊંચી વેણી ધારણ કરનારી; તીક્ષ્ણ નેત્રવાળી; અને લોખંડની મેખલાથી બંધાયેલી.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily serves narrative characterization: it shows how epic poetry uses auspicious and vivid physical epithets to signal a figure’s presence and impact. Such descriptive catalogues often frame the moral atmosphere of a scene—beauty, radiance, and unusual adornment can function as cues for significance, omen, or heightened tension within the war narrative.
Vaiśampāyana is describing a female figure through a sequence of epithets—her stature, radiance, hairstyle, eyes, and distinctive iron girdle—building a striking portrait. The style is that of an enumerative description, typical of the Mahābhārata when introducing or emphasizing a noteworthy presence in the unfolding events of the Śalya Parva.