Shloka 1
Damayantī’s Recognition by the Piplū Mark and Her Return to Vidarbha
अऑडआ कर (0) है ० षट्षष्टितमो<5 ध्याय: राजा नलके द्वारा दावानलसे कर्कोटक नागकी रक्षा तथा नागद्धवारा नलको आश्वासन ब॒हदश्व उवाच उत्सृज्य दमयन्तीं तु नलो राजा विशाम्पते । ददर्श दावं दहान्तं, महान्तं गहने वने,बृहदश्वच मुनि कहते हैं--युधिष्ठिर! दमयन्तीको छोड़कर जब राजा नल आगे बढ़ गये, तब एक गहन वनमें उन्होंने महान् दावानल प्रज्वलित होते देखा
bṛhadaśva uvāca | utsṛjya damayantīṃ tu nalo rājā viśāṃpate | dadarśa dāvaṃ dahantaṃ mahāntaṃ gahane vane ||
Bṛhadaśva sprach: „O Herr der Menschen, nachdem König Nala Damayantī zurückgelassen hatte, zog er weiter und erblickte in einem dichten Wald einen gewaltigen Waldbrand, der heftig loderte.“
ब॒हदश्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral crisis: Nala’s abandonment of Damayantī leads immediately into peril, suggesting that adharma (failure of duty and protection) precipitates further suffering and danger; it also sets the stage for later repentance, endurance, and restoration through right conduct.
Bṛhadaśva narrates to Yudhiṣṭhira that Nala, after leaving Damayantī, proceeds alone and encounters a massive forest fire in a dense woodland—an ominous externalization of his inner turmoil and the harshness of his exile.