Shloka 55
Sudeva Identifies Damayantī in Cedi (सुदेवेन दमयन्ती-परिचयः)
मानुषीं मां विजानीहि भर्तारं समनुव्रताम् सैरन्ध्रीजातिसम्पन्नां भुजिष्यां कामवासिनीम्
mānuṣīṁ māṁ vijānīhi bhartāraṁ samanuvratām | sairandhrījātisampannāṁ bhujisyāṁ kāmavāsinīm ||
Ela disse: “Sabei que sou apenas uma mulher humana — uma que segue o marido com conduta fiel. Sou da classe das sairandhrī (criadas hábeis no serviço das mulheres), uma serva dependente, vivendo ao bel-prazer de outrem.”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma through self-description: a woman presents herself as devoted to her husband and willing to accept a dependent role. It highlights ideals of fidelity (samanuvratā) and the ethical posture of humility and restraint while living under another’s authority.
A speaker identifies herself as a mortal woman of the sairandhrī type—an attendant/maid—emphasizing her dependent status and that she lives according to others’ wishes. This functions as a social positioning (and often, in the epic’s narrative texture, a way to explain one’s place and safety within a household).