Shloka 3

Ghaṭotkaca’s Conveyance to Badarī and Entry into the Nara-Nārāyaṇa Āśrama (घटोत्कच-वाहनम्; नरनारायणाश्रम-प्रवेशः)

Devanagari script

सा कम्पमाना मोहेन बाहुभ्यामसितेक्षणा । वृत्ताभ्यामनुरूपा भ्यामूरन समवलम्बत,घबराहटसे काँपती हुई कजरारे नेत्रोंवाली कृष्णाने अपने गोल-गोल और सुन्दर हाथोंसे दोनों जाँघोंको थाम लिया

Transliteration

sā kampamānā mohena bāhubhyām asitekṣaṇā | vṛttābhyām anurūpābhyām ūrūn samavalambata ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Overcome by bewilderment and trembling with fear, Kṛṣṇā—dark-eyed—clasped her thighs with her two rounded, well-proportioned arms, as if seeking support in the midst of distress. The scene underscores how sudden calamity can shake even the steadfast, and how vulnerability becomes a silent appeal for protection and justice.

Word by Word

साshe

कम्पमानाtrembling

मोहेनwith delusion / in bewilderment

बाहुभ्याम्with (her) two arms

असितेक्षणाblack-eyed (dark-eyed)

वृत्ताभ्याम्with two rounded (ones)

अनुरूपाभ्याम्with two well-proportioned (ones)

ऊरूtwo thighs

समवलम्बतclung to / held fast (grasped)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī)

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 highlights the ethical reality that intense adversity can overwhelm the mind (moha) and manifest physically as fear; recognizing such vulnerability invites compassion and reinforces the duty of protection and justice when someone is in distress.

What is happening in the narrative?

Draupadī (Kṛṣṇā), shaken and confused, trembles and physically holds her thighs with both arms—an embodied sign of shock and helplessness—while Vaiśampāyana narrates her condition.