Mahabharata 3.46.10 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 46, Shloka 10

धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः

Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Sañjaya on Arjuna’s Indraloka report and the political consequences

Devanagari script

अधो भूधरविस्तीर्ण नितम्बोन्नतपीवरम्‌ | मन्मथायतनं शुभ्र॑ं रसनादामभूषितम्‌

Transliteration

adho bhūdharavistīrṇa-nitambonnata-pīvaram | manmathāyatanaṃ śubhraṃ rasanādāmabhūṣitam ||

Translation

Mais abaixo, seus quadris se estendiam largos como uma cadeia de montanhas—altos e fartos—radiantes, cingidos por um cinto cujas tiras lhes realçavam a beleza. Essa região, coberta por finas vestes, parecia um santuário resplandecente do próprio Kāma; seu encanto podia perturbar até a mente dos sábios que habitam os mundos divinos.

Word by Word

• अधः: below, downward
• अधः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधस्
• Form: Avyaya

• भूधर-विस्तीर्ण: spread out like a mountain
• भूधर-विस्तीर्ण: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूधर-विस्तीर्ण
• Form: Neuter, nominative, singular

• नितम्ब-उन्नत-पीवरम्: having lofty and full hips
• नितम्ब-उन्नत-पीवरम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नितम्ब-उन्नत-पीवर
• Form: Neuter, nominative, singular

• मन्मथ-आयतनम्: abode/temple of Kāma (Love)
• मन्मथ-आयतनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्मथ-आयतन
• Form: Neuter, nominative, singular

• शुभ्रम्: bright, white, splendid
• शुभ्रम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ्र
• Form: Neuter, nominative, singular

• रसना-दाम-भूषितम्: adorned with a girdle-string/chain
• रसना-दाम-भूषितम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रसना-दाम-भूषित
• Form: Neuter, nominative, singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Manmatha (Kāma)
• rasanā (girdle/waist-ornament)
• devaloka (divine worlds)
• maharṣis (great sages)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the potency of sensual attraction and implicitly points to the ethical need for restraint (dama) and vigilance: even those considered spiritually advanced can be disturbed by desire if they are not watchful.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing a woman’s physical beauty—specifically the lower body and the ornamented waist/hips—using poetic imagery (mountain-like breadth; ‘shrine of Kāma’) to convey how intensely captivating it appears.