Shloka 20
आदि पर्व — खाण्डवदाह प्रसङ्गः: पावकस्य याचनं तथा इन्द्रवर्षनिवारणोपायः
Adi Parva — Khāṇḍava episode: Agni’s request and the means to resist Indra’s rain
अहं च सौरभेयी च समीची बुद्बुदा लता,भारत! मैं, सौरभेयी, समीची, बुदबुदा और लता--पाँचों एक ही साथ उन ब्राह्मणके समीप गयीं और उन्हें लुभाती हुई हँसने तथा गाने लगीं
vaiśampāyana uvāca | ahaṃ ca saurabheyī ca samīcī budbudā latā |
Vaiśampāyana said: “I, along with Saurabheyī, Samīcī, Budbudā, and Latā, went together to the brāhmaṇa. Seeking to entice him, we began to laugh and sing before him.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral test: deliberate enticement aimed at disturbing a brāhmaṇa’s restraint. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such scenes underscore the value of self-control (dama) and vigilance against actions that undermine dharma.
The speaker reports that five named figures—‘I’ along with Saurabheyī, Samīcī, Budbudā, and Latā—approach a brāhmaṇa together and attempt to attract him by playful laughter and singing.