Shloka 17
Śakuntalā’s Satya-Discourse and the Recognition of Bharata (शकुन्तला–सत्योपदेशः; भरतप्रतिग्रहः)
स गच्छन् ददृशे धीमान् नन्दनप्रतिमं वनम् । बिल्वार्कखदिराकीर्ण कपित्थधवसंकुलम्,उनका रथ गरुडके समान वेगशाली था। उसके द्वारा यात्रा करनेवाले नरेशने घरघराहटकी आवाजसे पृथ्वी और आकाशको गुँँजा दिया। जाते-जाते बुद्धिमान् दुष्यन्तने एक नन्दनवनके समान मनोहर वन देखा, जो बेल, आक, खैर, कैथ और धव (बाकली) आदि वृक्षोंसे भरपूर था
sa gacchan dadṛśe dhīmān nandana-pratimaṁ vanam | bilvārka-khadirākīrṇaṁ kapittha-dhava-saṅkulam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: As he proceeded on his way, the wise king beheld a forest as delightful as Nandana itself—thickly filled with bilva, arka, and khadira trees, and crowded with kapittha and dhava. The scene underscores the king’s onward journey into a space of natural abundance and auspicious beauty, a setting that often precedes significant encounters and tests of conduct in the epic’s narrative flow.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the epic frames pivotal human actions within morally suggestive environments: a lush, Nandana-like forest signals auspiciousness and the approach of consequential encounters, reminding a ruler to carry discernment and self-restraint even amid beauty and abundance.
As the king travels, he comes upon an exceptionally beautiful and tree-filled forest, compared to Indra’s Nandana garden. This description sets the scene for events that unfold in the woodland setting.