Shloka 8
Adhyāya 14: Sudēṣṇā Sends Sairandhrī to Kīcaka’s House (सुदेष्णा–सैरन्ध्री–कीचक संवादः)
का देवरूपा हृदयड्भमा शुभे ह्याचक्ष्व मे कस्य कुतो5त्र शोभने । चित्त हि निर्मथ्य करोति मां वशे न चान्यदत्रौषधमस्ति मे मतम्
kā devarūpā hṛdayaṅgamā śubhe hy ācakṣva me kasya kuto ’tra śobhane | cittaṃ hi nirmathya karoti māṃ vaśe na cānyad atrauṣadham asti me matam ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “O mapalad na ginang, sino siya—na anyong tulad ng diwata—na pumasok at umangkin sa aking puso? O marikit, sabihin mo sa akin: kaninong asawa siya, at saan siya nagmula at naparito? Ginugulo niya ang aking isip at inilalagay ako sa ilalim ng kanyang kapangyarihan. Sa sakit na ito, wala akong nakikitang lunas kundi ang makamtan siya.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overpowering attraction can disturb discernment: the mind is ‘churned’ and one feels compelled, imagining a single object as the only ‘remedy.’ Ethically, it warns that desire can masquerade as necessity, urging vigilance and self-restraint.
A speaker, overwhelmed by the sight of a woman described as divinely beautiful, asks an attendant/confidante to identify her—whose wife she is and where she came from—confessing that his mind has been agitated and he feels there is no cure except obtaining her.