Shloka 13

Devanagari script

अतीवसुकुमाराड्ीं तनुमध्यां सुलोचनाम्‌ । आशक्षिपन्तीमिव प्रभां शशिन: स्वेन तेजसा,उसके अंग परम सुकुमार हैं, कटिके ऊपरका भाग अत्यन्त पतला है और नेत्र बड़े सुन्दर हैं एवं वह अपने तेजसे चन्द्रमाकी प्रभाको भी तिरस्कृत-सी कर रही है

Transliteration

atīvasukumārāṅgīṁ tanumadhyāṁ sulocanām | āśakṣipantīm iva prabhāṁ śaśinaḥ svena tejasā ||

Translation

Bṛhadaśva said: “She is exceedingly delicate-limbed, slender-waisted, and possessed of beautiful eyes; by her own radiance she seems, as it were, to eclipse even the moon’s glow.”

Word by Word

अतीवexceedingly, very

सुकुमाराvery delicate (one)

तनु-मध्याम्she whose waist/middle is slender

सु-लोचनाम्beautiful-eyed

आ-आक्षिपन्तीम्casting away/overpowering, eclipsing

इवas if, like

प्रभाम्splendour, radiance

शशिनःof the moon

स्वेनwith her own

तेजसाby/with brilliance, radiance

Speaker

बृहृदश्च उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bṛhadaśva

the Moon (Śaśin)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse primarily serves a narrative-poetic function: it uses elevated imagery to portray extraordinary beauty and presence, illustrating how epic literature employs comparisons (upamā) to convey awe and admiration rather than issuing a direct moral injunction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bṛhadaśva is describing a woman of remarkable beauty—delicate-limbed, slender-waisted, and bright-eyed—whose natural radiance is said to outshine even the moon, heightening the listener’s sense of wonder within the ongoing story.