Shloka 18

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site

Devanagari script

सुभगा लम्बनी लम्बा ताम्रचूडा विकाशिनी । ऊर्ध्ववेणीधरा चैव पिड़ाक्षी लोहमेखला

Transliteration

subhagā lambanī lambā tāmracūḍā vikāśinī | ūrdhvaveṇīdharā caiva piḍākṣī lohamekhalā ||

Translation

ໄວສັມປາຍະນະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ນາງເປັນຜູ້ມີສິຣິມົງຄົນ ແລະງາມສະຫງ່າ—ຮ່າງບາງ ແລະສູງ. ມີຍອດຜົມສີທອງແດງ ແລະສະຫວ່າງໄສ. ມັດຜົມເປັນຫາງປອກຍົກສູງ. ມີດວງຕາໂດດເດັ່ນ. ແລະຄາດດ້ວຍເຂັມຂັດເຫຼັກ»។

Word by Word

सुभगाfortunate, auspicious (woman)

लम्बनीa tall/slender woman

लम्बाtall, long-limbed

ताम्रचूडाhaving a coppery crest/topknot

विकाशिनीblooming, radiant, expanding

ऊर्ध्ववेणीधराwearing the braid/topknot raised upward

चand

एवindeed, just

पिड़ाक्षीhaving swollen/raised eyes (or eye-corners)

लोहमेखलाwearing an iron girdle/belt

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

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 primarily serves narrative characterization: it shows how epic poetry uses auspicious and vivid physical epithets to signal a figure’s presence and impact. Such descriptive catalogues often frame the moral atmosphere of a scene—beauty, radiance, and unusual adornment can function as cues for significance, omen, or heightened tension within the war narrative.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing a female figure through a sequence of epithets—her stature, radiance, hairstyle, eyes, and distinctive iron girdle—building a striking portrait. The style is that of an enumerative description, typical of the Mahābhārata when introducing or emphasizing a noteworthy presence in the unfolding events of the Śalya Parva.