Shloka 17
दमयन्त्याः कार्यनिश्चयः — Damayantī’s Crisis Plan and Vārṣṇeya’s Departure
देवेभ्य: प्रा्जलिर्भूत्वा वेपमानेदमब्रवीत् । हंसानां वचन श्रुत्वा यथा मे नैषधो वृतः । पतित्वे तेन सत्येन देवास्तं प्रदिशन्तु मे
devebhyaḥ prāñjalir bhūtvā vepamānam idam abravīt | haṃsānāṃ vacanaṃ śrutvā yathā me naiṣadho vṛtaḥ | patitve tena satyena devās taṃ pradiśantu me ||
Mit gefalteten Händen in Ehrfurcht vor den Göttern, zitternd, sprach sie: „Nachdem ich die Worte der Schwäne vernommen habe, so wie Nala von Niṣadha für mich erwählt wurde — kraft der Wahrheit dieses Gelübdes und dieser Treue — mögen die Götter mir nun eben ihn zu erkennen geben.“
बृहदश्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness and fidelity (satya) are presented as ethically potent: when one stands by a truthful commitment, one may rightly seek divine clarity and guidance, especially amid confusion or fear.
The speaker describes a person, trembling and with folded hands, praying to the gods to identify Nala—recalling that, after hearing the swans’ words, Nala had been chosen as her husband; she invokes the truth of that bond as the basis for the gods to reveal him.