Shloka 14
Khāṇḍava-dāha: Indra’s Countermeasures and the Nāga Aśvasena’s Escape (आदि पर्व, अध्याय २१८)
तत्र चडुक्रममाणौ तौ वसुदेवसुतां शुभाम् | अलंकृतां सखीमध्ये भद्रां ददूशतुस्तदा,इसी समय वहाँ वसुदेवजीकी सुन्दरी पुत्री सुभद्रा शृंगारसे सुसज्जित हो सखियोंसे घिरी हुई उधर आ निकली। वहाँ टहलते हुए श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनने उसे देखा
tatra caḍukramamāṇau tau vasudevasutāṃ śubhām | alaṅkṛtāṃ sakhīmadhye bhadrāṃ dadūśatus tadā ||
Just then, as the two of them were walking about there, they saw the auspicious daughter of Vasudeva—Subhadrā—beautifully adorned and standing amid her companions. At that moment, Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, strolling nearby, caught sight of her, setting the scene for the fateful alliance that will later be formed through marriage.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pivotal dharmic outcomes often begin with ordinary moments. A simple sighting becomes the seed of a major family alliance; ethically, it frames marriage and kinship as forces that shape political and social order in the epic.
While Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are walking about, they see Subhadrā—Vasudeva’s daughter—adorned and surrounded by her companions. This encounter foreshadows Arjuna’s later union with her, an important turning point in the Mahābhārata’s network of relationships.