Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 29

Adhyāya 14: Sudēṣṇā Sends Sairandhrī to Kīcaka’s House (सुदेष्णा–सैरन्ध्री–कीचक संवादः)

Devanagari script

नार्हसीहासुखं वस्तुं सुखाहा सुखवर्जिता । प्राप्तुह्मनुत्तमं सौख्यं मत्तस्त्वं मत्तगामिनि

Transliteration

nārhasīhā-sukhaṁ vastuṁ sukhāhā sukhavarjitā | prāptum anuttamaṁ saukhyaṁ mattas tvaṁ mattagāmini ||

Translation

Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Hindi ka nararapat manirahan sa pook na walang ligaya. Bagaman karapat-dapat kang magtamasa ng ginhawa, dito’y pinagkakaitan ka ng kaligayahan. O Sairandhrī, aliping-babaeng lumalakad na may marikit na hakbang na wari’y lasing sa halina—tanggapin mo mula sa akin ang pinakadakilang kaluguran.”

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'arhasi (ārhasi)': 'you are fit/you ought', 'sukham': 'happiness, comfort, pleasure', 'vastum': 'to dwell, to reside', 'sukhāhā (sukhāhāḥ / sukhāhā)': 'one who is meant for/accustomed to comfort (sense: ‘fit for happiness’)', 'sukhavarjitā': 'deprived of happiness', 'prāptum': 'to obtain', 'anuttamam': 'unsurpassed, supreme', 'saukhyam': 'pleasure, ease, well-being', 'mattas': 'from me', 'tvam': 'you', 'mattagāmini': 'she who moves with an intoxicated/graceful gait', 'sairandhrī (implied by the Hindi gloss)': 'a female attendant/maid

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Sairandhrī (Draupadī in disguise)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical contrast: a powerful man frames coercive desire as ‘giving happiness,’ underscoring how adharma often disguises itself as benevolence; it invites the reader to judge conduct by consent and righteousness, not by flattering words.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Virāṭa’s court, the woman known as Sairandhrī (Draupadī in disguise) is being addressed with seductive, pressuring language: she is told she does not belong in a place of hardship and should accept ‘supreme pleasure’ from the speaker.