Shloka 13

Devanagari script

एकैव मम कन्यैषा युवां परिचरिष्यसि । दर्शनीयानवद्याजड्री शीलवृत्तसमाहिता

Transliteration

ekaiva mama kanyeṣā yuvāṃ paricariṣyasi | darśanīyānavadyā jaḍrī śīlavṛttasamāhitā ||

Translation

「これが我がただ一人の娘である。汝らは彼女に仕えよ。彼女は見るに麗しく、瑕なく、堅固さと善き行い、そして律ある沈着を備えている。」

Word by Word

एकाone (single)

एवindeed/only

ममof me / my

कन्याdaughter/maiden

एषाthis (she)

युवाम्you two

परिचरिष्यसिyou will attend/serve

दर्शनीयlovely to see

अनवद्याblameless/faultless

जड्रीa proper name/epithet (Jadrī)

शीलconduct/character

वृत्तbehavior/practice

समाहिताendowed with/possessed of; composed

Speaker

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Kṛṣṇa's daughter (unnamed in this verse)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds ethical evaluation through character: beauty is acknowledged, but it is paired with blamelessness, steadiness, good conduct, and self-control. It implies that true worth in a person—especially in domestic and social life—rests on disciplined virtues (śīla, vṛtta, samāhita) rather than appearance alone.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrī Kṛṣṇa speaks about his only daughter and instructs the addressed party (in the dual, yuvām) to attend upon her. He describes her qualities—pleasing appearance, faultlessness, steadiness, and disciplined conduct—framing her as worthy of respectful care and service within the social-dharmic setting.