Shloka 24

Damayantī’s Recognition by the Piplū Mark and Her Return to Vidarbha

Devanagari script

स्वं रूपं च यदा द्रष्टमिच्छेथास्त्वं नराधिप । संस्मर्तव्यस्तदा ते5हं वासश्षेद॑ निवासये:,“नरेश्वरर जब आप अपने (पहलेवाले) रूपको देखना चाहें, उस समय मेरा स्मरण करें और इस कपड़ेको ओढ़ लें

Transliteration

svaṁ rūpaṁ ca yadā draṣṭum icchethās tvaṁ narādhipa | saṁsmartavyas tadā te 'haṁ vāsaś cedaṁ nivāsaya ||

Translation

Bṛhadaśva sprach: „O König, wann immer du wieder deine frühere Gestalt schauen willst, gedenke meiner; und dann lege dieses Gewand an.“

Word by Word

• स्वम्: one's own
• स्वम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• रूपम्: form, appearance
• रूपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• यदा: when
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा

• द्रष्टुम्: to see
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Tumun (infinitive)

• इच्छेथाः: you may wish/desire
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष्
• Form: Vidhi-ling (optative), Second, Singular, Parasmaipada

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नराधिप: O king (lord of men)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नराधिप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• संस्मर्तव्यः: to be remembered (should be remembered)
• Type: Verb
• Root: संस्मृ
• Form: Tavya (gerundive), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तदा: then, at that time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• ते: for you / to you
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Dative, Singular

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Nominative, Singular

• वासः: garment, cloth
• वासः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• निवासय: put on, wear (lit. cause to dwell on oneself)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि+वास्
• Form: Lot (imperative), Second, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

ब॒हदश्व उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bṛhadaśva
• Narādhipa (the king addressed, i.e., Nala in context)
• vāsaḥ (garment)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Help offered in dharmic friendship is practical and timely: remembrance (smṛti) and a simple prescribed act (wearing the garment) become means to restore what has been obscured—here, one’s rightful identity and dignity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bṛhadaśva instructs the king (Nala, in the Nala–Damayantī episode) that whenever he wishes to regain his former appearance, he should remember Bṛhadaśva and don the given garment, which will enable the return to his original form.