Shloka 32
Nala’s Embassy to Damayantī and the Gods’ Proposal (नलस्य दूतत्वं देवप्रस्तावश्च)
स तथाक्षेषु कुशलो निश्चितो गतचेतन: । चरिष्यसि महाराज वनेषु वसती: पुनः
sa tathākṣeṣu kuśalo niścito gatacetanaḥ | cariṣyasi mahārāja vaneṣu vasatīḥ punaḥ
Vaiśampāyana said: “Thus, though skilled at the dice, you have become fixed in your resolve, your mind no longer swayed by that obsession. Therefore, O great king, you will once again live in the forests, dwelling there in exile.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one has talent in a harmful pursuit (here, gambling), dharma requires steadiness of mind and acceptance of consequences; true strength is shown in resolve and self-restraint rather than in skill at vice.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana describes the king’s state after the dice episode: despite being adept at dice, he is now firm and mentally detached, and he is destined to return to forest-dwelling—signaling the continuation of exile in the Vana Parva storyline.