Shloka 14
दमयन्त्याः अरण्यविहारः — Damayantī’s Passage through the Wilderness
ततस्तान् परिधानेन वाससा स समावृणोत् | तस्य तद् वस्त्रमादाय सर्वे जम्मुर्विहायसा,तदनन्तर उन्होंने अपने अधोवस्त्रसे उन पक्षियोंको ढँक दिया। किंतु वे सब पक्षी उनका वह वस्त्र लेकर आकाशमें उड़ गये
tatas tān paridhānena vāsasā sa samāvṛṇot | tasya tad vastram ādāya sarve jagmur vihāyasā ||
Daraufhin bedeckte er jene Vögel mit seinem Untergewand wie mit einem Tuch. Doch alle ergriffen das Gewand und flogen damit in den Himmel davon.
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic reflex: to protect vulnerable beings even at personal cost. The loss of the garment underscores that compassion may invite inconvenience or deception, yet the ethical impulse to shelter and safeguard remains central.
The speaker narrates that he covered the birds with his undercloth; immediately, the birds took that very cloth and flew off into the sky, turning the act of protection into a moment of unexpected loss and a moral test.