Shloka 4
दमयन्तीस्वयंवरः — देववेषधारणं, सत्यप्रार्थना, नलवरणम्
Damayantī’s Svayaṃvara: Divine Disguises, Truth-Vow, and Choosing Nala
न शय्यासनभोगेषु रतिं विन्दति कहिचित् । ननक्तं न दिवा शेते हाहेति रुदती पुन:,उसकी शबय्या, आसन तथा भोग-सामग्रियोंमें कहीं भी प्रीति नहीं होती थी। वह न तो रातमें सोती और न दिनमें ही। बारंबार “हाय-हाय' करके रोती ही रहती थी
na śayyāsanabhogeṣu ratiṁ vindati kaścit | na naktaṁ na divā śete hāheti rudatī punaḥ ||
Bṛhadaśva said: She found no delight in bed, seat, or any enjoyments. She neither slept by night nor by day; again and again she wept, crying, “Alas, alas!”—a portrait of grief so consuming that it extinguishes all ordinary comforts and duties of life.
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Overwhelming sorrow can sever one’s attachment to comfort and pleasure; the verse highlights how grief, when unchecked, disrupts basic human rhythms like sleep and makes worldly enjoyments meaningless—inviting reflection on steadiness of mind and compassionate response to suffering.
Bṛhadaśva describes a woman in intense distress: she cannot take pleasure in bed, seat, or enjoyments, and she remains sleepless both night and day, repeatedly crying “hā hā,” indicating sustained lament and emotional collapse.