Shloka 38

Nala’s Embassy to Damayantī and the Gods’ Proposal (नलस्य दूतत्वं देवप्रस्तावश्च)

Devanagari script

यत्‌ त्वमाभाषसे पार्थ प्राप्त: काल इति प्रभो । अनृतं नोत्सहे वक्तुं न होतन्मम विद्यते,'किंतु शक्तिशाली वीर कुन्तीकुमार! तुम जो यह कहते हो कि सुयोधनके वधका अवसर आ गया है, वह ठीक नहीं है। मैं झूठ नहीं बोल सकता, मुझमें यह आदत नहीं है

Transliteration

yat tvam ābhāṣase pārtha prāptaḥ kāla iti prabho | anṛtaṃ notsahe vaktuṃ na hotan mama vidyate ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O Pārtha, mighty lord, what you are asserting—‘the time (for Suyodhana’s slaying) has arrived’—is not correct. I cannot bring myself to speak falsehood; such a tendency does not exist in me.”

Word by Word

• {'yat': 'that which

• what', 'tvam': 'you', 'ābhāṣase': 'you say, you declare, you speak out', 'pārtha': 'O son of Pṛthā (Arjuna)', 'prāptaḥ': 'arrived, obtained, come to pass', 'kālaḥ': 'time

• fate/occasion', 'iti': 'thus

• ‘so’ (quotative particle)', 'prabho': 'O lord

• O mighty one', 'anṛtam': 'untruth

• falsehood', 'notsahe': 'I do not dare

• I am not able/ready (to do)', 'vaktum': 'to speak', 'na': 'not', 'ho': 'indeed

• surely (emphatic particle, often in prohibitive/denial contexts)', 'tat': 'that', 'mama': 'of me

• in me', 'vidyate': 'is found

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Suyodhana (Duryodhana)
• Kāla (Time/Fate)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds satya (truthfulness) as a binding ethical discipline: even when war and urgency are invoked—“the time has come”—one should not justify false speech. Moral authority is linked to restraint in speech and refusal to endorse an untrue claim.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Vana Parva context, a speaker addresses Arjuna (Pārtha) who claims that the moment to kill Suyodhana has arrived. The speaker rejects that assertion and emphasizes personal commitment to truth, stating he cannot speak untruth and that such a habit is not present in him.