Shloka 10

Devanagari script

यदि वै तस्य वीरस्य बाह्दोनच्याहमन्तरम्‌ । प्रविशामि सुखस्पर्श न भविष्याम्यसंशयम्‌,आज यदि मैं उन वीरशिरोमणि नलकी दोनों भुजाओंके मध्यभागमें, जिसका स्पर्श अत्यन्त सुखद है, प्रवेश न कर सकी तो अवश्य जीवित न रह सकूँगी

Transliteration

yadi vai tasya vīrasya bāhvor madhyāham antaram | praviśāmi sukha-sparśaṁ na bhaviṣyāmy asaṁśayam ||

Translation

„Wenn ich heute nicht in den Raum zwischen die beiden Arme jenes heldenhaften Nala gelangen kann — dessen Berührung überaus beglückend ist —, dann werde ich ohne Zweifel nicht am Leben bleiben.“

Word by Word

यदिif

वैindeed/for sure

तस्यof him/of that

वीरस्यof the hero

बाह्वोःof (his) two arms

अनुच्यhaving said/after saying (in reply)

अहम्I

अन्तरम्the space/interval (between)

प्रविशामिI enter

सुखस्पर्शम्pleasant-to-touch (having a delightful touch)

नnot

भविष्यामिI shall be / I shall remain (alive)

असंशयम्without doubt, certainly

Speaker

बृहदश्चव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bṛhadaśvā

Nala

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how overpowering desire and fixation can distort judgment, producing extreme, self-destructive resolve; it implicitly warns that unchecked attachment can eclipse restraint and dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker (introduced as Bṛhadaśvā in the edition) voices an intense determination centered on Nala’s embrace—declaring that failure to reach the space between his arms today would mean certain death—thereby heightening the emotional stakes of the episode.