Shloka 3

अङ्गददूतवाक्यं लङ्काप्राकारभेदनं च

Angada’s Embassy and the Breach of Laṅkā’s Ramparts

Devanagari script

सीमन्तिनीनां मुख्यायां विनिवृत्त: कथं भवान्‌ । एतां दृष्ट्वा स्त्रियो मेडन्या यथा शाखामृगस्त्रिय:

Transliteration

sīmāntinīnāṃ mukhyāyāṃ vinivṛttaḥ kathaṃ bhavān | etāṃ dṛṣṭvā striyo meḍanyā yathā śākhāmṛga-striyaḥ ||

Translation

ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「なぜ汝は、女たちの中でも最もすぐれたその人から引き返したのか。彼女を見れば、メーダ国の女たちは心を揺さぶられ、彼女に引き寄せられて後を追う――木に棲む鹿の雌がそうするように。」

Word by Word

सीमन्तिनीनाम्of women (with braided/parted hair; i.e., ladies)

मुख्यायाम्in/among the chief (one)

विनिवृत्तःreturned/turned back

कथम्how/why

भवान्you (honorific)

एताम्this (woman)/her

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

स्त्रियःwomen

मेदिन्याम्on the earth/ground

यथाas/just as

शाखा-मृगःa tree-dwelling animal (monkey)

स्त्रियःfemales (female monkeys)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Meḍa (region/people)

the foremost married woman (unnamed in this verse)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the social-ethical expectation of self-restraint and proper conduct in relation to a respected woman; turning away (or failing to do so) is framed as a morally and socially significant act, with public perception underscored through the simile of instinctive attraction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana comments on someone’s unexpected withdrawal from a prominent woman, noting that the local women of Meḍa react strongly upon seeing her—suggesting her exceptional presence and the social stir her appearance creates.