Shloka 22
Adhyāya 14: Sudēṣṇā Sends Sairandhrī to Kīcaka’s House (सुदेष्णा–सैरन्ध्री–कीचक संवादः)
वलीविभड्रचतुरं स्तनभारविनामितम् । कराग्रसम्मितं मध्यं तवेदं तनुमध्यमे,“तनुमध्यमे! तुम्हारी कमर इतनी पतली है कि हाथोंके अग्रभागसे (अँगूठेसे लेकर तर्जनीतकके बित्तेसे) माप ली जा सकती है। वह त्रिवलीकी तीन रेखाओंसे परम सुन्दर दीखती है। तुम्हारे स््तनोंके भारने उसे कुछ झुका दिया है
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
valī-vibhaḍra-caturaṁ stana-bhāra-vināmitam |
karāgra-sammitam madhyaṁ tavedaṁ tanumadhyame ||
ไวศัมปายนะกล่าวว่า— “โอ้ผู้มีเอวอรชร เอวของเจ้าบางนัก จนวัดได้ด้วยช่วงปลายนิ้วมือ งามยิ่งด้วยรอยพับสามชั้น และด้วยน้ำหนักแห่งถัน จึงดูเอนลงเล็กน้อย.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive: it illustrates a courtly mode of speech that praises physical beauty through poetic measurements and auspicious marks (like the three folds). Ethically, it reflects how admiration and desire can be expressed in refined language within epic narrative, without itself laying down a dharma-rule.
In Virāṭa Parva, the narration includes episodes in which a woman’s appearance is described in ornate, conventional poetic terms. Here the speaker (as reported by Vaiśampāyana) praises a ‘slender-waisted’ woman, emphasizing the narrowness of her waist, the beauty of the three folds, and the slight bend caused by the weight of her breasts.