Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 27
Adhyāya 14: Sudēṣṇā Sends Sairandhrī to Kīcaka’s House (सुदेष्णा–सैरन्ध्री–कीचक संवादः)
प्रविष्टा ह्मसितापाज्धि प्रचण्डाश्षण्डदारुणा: । अत्युन्मादसमारम्भा: प्रीत्युन्मादकरा मम | आत्मप्रदानसम्भोगैर्मामुद्धर्तुमिहाहसि
vaiśampāyana uvāca | praviṣṭā hmasitāpājdhi pracaṇḍāśṣaṇḍadāruṇāḥ | aty-unmāda-samārambhāḥ prīty-unmāda-karā mama | ātma-pradāna-sambhogair mām uddhartum ihāhasi |
Wika ni Vaiśampāyana: “Nang maisakay sa batong-hasa ng pag-asang makipagniig, ang mga palaso ni Kāma ay naging labis na matalim at mabangis. Sa marahas na puwersang nagpalipad sa kanila—malupit at kakila-kilabot—tinusok nila ang aking puso at pumasok sa loob, na nag-uudyok ng deliryo na parang pagkabaliw at nagpapaliyab ng pagkahibang ng pag-ibig. Ikaw lamang, o mukhang-buwan, ang makapagliligtas sa akin dito—sa pamamagitan ng ‘gamot’ ng pag-iisang-dibdib na nagmumula sa pag-aalay ng sarili.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds how unchecked desire can overwhelm discernment, using the imagery of Kāma’s arrows to depict psychological and bodily agitation; it also frames ‘self-surrender’ as the sought remedy, revealing the ethical tension between impulse and restraint within human relationships.
A speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) addresses a ‘moon-faced’ woman, describing being struck by the fierce arrows of love and pleading that she alone can save him through intimate union—an intense erotic appeal expressed through martial metaphors.