Shloka 15
Akṣa-hṛdaya-dāna and Phalāśruti of the Nalopākhyāna (अक्षहृदयदानम् / नलोपाख्यान-फलश्रुतिः)
देवनेन मम प्रीतिर्न भवत्यसुहद्रणै: । जित्वा त्वद्य वरारोहां दमयन्तीमनिन्दिताम्
devanena mama prītir na bhavaty asuhṛd-raṇaiḥ | jitvā tv adya varārohāṃ damayantīm aninditām ||
Bṛhadaśva sprach: „Weder am Würfelspiel habe ich Freude, noch an Wettstreiten mit denen, die bösen Willen hegen. Doch heute, da ich die untadelige Damayantī, von edler Gestalt, bezwungen habe, werde ich wahrlich zufrieden sein.“
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts ethically suspect pleasures—gambling and hostile contention—with the desire for a ‘victory’ framed as legitimate conquest. It implicitly raises a dharmic question: true satisfaction should not arise from vice (dice) or enmity-driven struggle, and even ‘victory’ must be examined for its moral basis.
Bṛhadaśva speaks about what does and does not please him: he rejects delight in gambling and in fighting with ill-disposed opponents, yet declares that he will be pleased today after ‘conquering’ Damayantī, described as noble and blameless—language that signals a contest or claim over her within the episode’s unfolding events.