Shloka 24
Damayantī’s Proposal of a Witnessed Choice; Nala Reports to the Lokapālas
Adhyāya 53
सा तानद्धुतरूपान् वै दृष्टया सखिगणावृता । ह्ृष्टा ग्रहीतुं खगमांस्त्वरमाणोपचक्रमे,सखियोंसे घिरी हुई राजकुमारी दमयन्ती उन अपूर्व पक्षियोंकों देखकर बहुत प्रसन्न हुई और तुरंत ही उन्हें पकड़नेकी चेष्टा करने लगी
sā tān adbhutarūpān vai dṛṣṭvā sakhigaṇāvṛtā | hṛṣṭā grahītuṃ khagamāṃs tvaramāṇopacakrame ||
وكانت الأميرةُ دَمَيَنْتِي محاطةً بصاحباتها، فلما رأتْ تلك الطيورَ ذاتَ الهيئةِ العجيبة امتلأتْ فرحًا، وأسرعتْ من فورها تحاولُ الإمساكَ بها.
बृहृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the natural human attraction to beauty and novelty and the quick impulse to possess it; in epic storytelling this often serves as a moral prelude, reminding readers to notice how small desires and spontaneous actions can open the way to larger, destiny-shaping events.
Damayantī, accompanied by her friends, sees extraordinary birds and, delighted, rushes to catch them—an episode that sets up the ensuing developments in the Nala–Damayantī story.