Shloka 17
कलेर्द्वापरस्य च नले प्रति कोपः
Kali and Dvāpara’s Resolve Against Nala
अहो रूपमहो कान्तिरहो धैर्य महात्मन: । को<यं देवो5थवा यक्षो गन्धर्वो वा भविष्यति,वे सोचने लगीं--“अहो! इनका रूप अद्भुत है, कान्ति बड़ी मनोहर है तथा इन महात्माका धैर्य भी अनूठा है। न जाने ये हैं कौन? सम्भव है, देवता, यक्ष अथवा गन्धर्व हों!
aho rūpam aho kāntir aho dhairyaṁ mahātmanaḥ | ko ’yaṁ devo ’thavā yakṣo gandharvo vā bhaviṣyati ||
Bṛhadaśva sprach: „Ach, welch Schönheit! Ach, welch Glanz! Und welch außergewöhnliche Standhaftigkeit in diesem Großgesinnten! Wer mag er sein—vielleicht ein Gott, ein Yakṣa oder ein Gandharva?“
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how visible qualities—beauty, radiance, and especially steadfast courage (dhairya)—signal inner nobility. Such excellence can appear ‘beyond ordinary,’ prompting reverence and careful discernment rather than rash judgment.
Bṛhadaśva voices astonishment on seeing an extraordinary person, praising his appearance and composure and wondering whether he is a human at all—perhaps a deva, yakṣa, or gandharva—thereby emphasizing the figure’s exceptional presence.