Shloka 14
आदि पर्व — खाण्डवदाह प्रसङ्गः: पावकस्य याचनं तथा इन्द्रवर्षनिवारणोपायः
Adi Parva — Khāṇḍava episode: Agni’s request and the means to resist Indra’s rain
तां स्त्रियं परमप्रीत इदं वचनमत्रवीत् । का वै त्वमसि कल्याणि कुतो वासि जलेचरी
tāṃ striyaṃ paramaprīta idaṃ vacanam abravīt | kā vai tvam asi kalyāṇi kuto vāsi jalecarī ||
Vaishampayana said: Delighted beyond measure, he addressed that woman with these words: “Who indeed are you, auspicious lady? From where do you dwell—O one who moves in the waters?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a basic ethical posture in encounters with the unknown: approach with respectful address (kalyāṇi) and seek clarity through direct, non-hostile inquiry about identity and origin.
In the flow of the Adi Parva narration, a man—overjoyed on seeing an extraordinary woman associated with water—speaks to her and asks who she is and where she lives, marking the start of an explanatory exchange.