Shloka 89
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
यदि कैश्िवहोरात्रैर्न द्रक्ष्यामि नल॑ नूपम् । आत्मानं श्रेयसा योक्ष्ये देहस्यास्य विमोचनात्,“यदि कुछ ही दिन-रातमें मैं राजा नलको नहीं देखूँगी तो इस शरीरका परित्याग करके आत्माका कल्याण करूँगी
yadi kaiścid ahorātrair na drakṣyāmi nalaṁ nṛpam | ātmānaṁ śreyasā yokṣye dehasyāsya vimocanāt ||
قال بريهادَشڤا: «إن لم أرَ الملك نالا في غضون أيامٍ وليالٍ قليلة، فسأطرح هذا الجسد جانبًا وألتمس لنفسي الخيرَ الأعلى.»
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the extremity of resolve born from separation: the speaker frames bodily life as secondary to a higher good (śreyas), suggesting that when one’s purpose collapses, one may seek ‘release’—though the Mahābhārata elsewhere upholds endurance and right action as the dharmic ideal.
In the Nala-upākhyāna context, the speaker reports a vow-like statement: if Nala is not seen within a short time, the person speaking intends to abandon the body, expressing intense distress and urgency in the search for the lost king.