Shloka 34

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

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

Devanagari script

अरुणाभा महाभोगा दीर्घकेश्य: सिताम्बरा: । ऊर्ध्ववेणीधराश्नैव पिड्ाक्ष्यो लम्बमेखला:

Transliteration

aruṇābhā mahābhogā dīrghakeśyaḥ sitāmbarāḥ | ūrdhvaveṇīdharāś caiva piṅgākṣyo lambamekhalāḥ ||

Translation

ไวศัมปายนะกล่าวว่า “นางเหล่านั้นส่องรัศมีแดงเรื่อ เปี่ยมด้วยความโอ่อ่าและสมบัติอันใหญ่หลวง ผมยาว สวมอาภรณ์สีขาว มวยผมถักเกล้าสูง ดวงตาสีน้ำตาลทอง และคาดเมขลายาวที่เอว”

Word by Word

अरुणाभाःhaving a reddish glow

महाभोगाःhaving large/ample curves (lit. great coils/folds)

दीर्घकेश्याःlong-haired

सिताम्बराःwearing white garments

ऊर्ध्ववेणीधराःwearing the braid/topknot raised upward

चand

एवindeed/just

पिङ्गाक्ष्यःhaving tawny/brownish eyes

लम्बमेखलाःwearing long-hanging girdles

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

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 functions less as a direct moral injunction and more as a narrative device: in the context of war, extraordinary appearances and ominous signs underscore the ethical gravity of adharma-driven conflict and the sense that cosmic order reacts to human violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a group of striking, otherworldly female figures by their color, dress, hair, eyes, and ornaments—details typically used in the epic to signal a portent or supernatural manifestation amid the events of the Shalya Parva.