Shloka 13

सहदेवस्य गोसंख्य-तन्तिपाल-रूपेण विराट-समागमः | Sahadeva’s Audience with Virāṭa as Cattle-Enumerator

Tantipāla

Devanagari script

शारदोत्पलपत्राक्ष्या शारदोत्पलगन्धया । शारदोत्पलसेविन्या रूपेण सदृशी श्रिया

Transliteration

śāradotpalapatrākṣyā śāradotpalagandhayā | śāradotpalasevinyā rūpeṇa sadṛśī śriyā ||

Translation

ໄວສັມປາຍະນະ ກ່າວວ່າ: ນາງມີດວງຕາດັ່ງກີບດອກບົວໃນລະດູໃບໄມ້ຫຼົ່ນ, ມີກິ່ນຫອມດັ່ງດອກບົວໃນລະດູນັ້ນ, ແລະມັກພໍໃຈດອກບົວໃນລະດູນັ້ນ; ໃນຄວາມງາມ ນາງຄ້າຍດັ່ງພຣະສຣີ (ລັກສະມີ) ເອງ.

Word by Word

शारदोत्पलपत्राक्ष्याby/with (her) having eyes like autumn-lotus petals

शारदोत्पलगन्धयाby/with (her) having the fragrance of an autumn lotus

शारदोत्पलसेविन्याby/with (her) who frequents/uses/serves the autumn lotus

रूपेणin/with beauty; by form

सदृशीsimilar; resembling

श्रियाwith splendor/fortune; with beauty

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Śrī (Lakṣmī)

śāradotpala (autumn lotus)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse conveys auspiciousness and inner refinement through lotus imagery: like the lotus that remains pure though rooted in water and mud, the described woman is presented as naturally graceful and fortunate, suggesting purity, dignity, and благородство as ethical ideals.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana is describing a woman’s appearance and presence in elevated poetic terms—lotus-eyed, lotus-fragrant, lotus-loving—culminating in the statement that she resembles Śrī (Lakṣmī), thereby marking her as exceptionally auspicious and admirable.