Shloka 53
दमयन्तीस्वयंवरः — देववेषधारणं, सत्यप्रार्थना, नलवरणम्
Damayantī’s Svayaṃvara: Divine Disguises, Truth-Vow, and Choosing Nala
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत नलोपाख्यानपर्वमें हंसदमयन्तीयंवादविषयक तिरपनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṃ śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi antargate nalopākhyānaparvaṇi haṃsadamyantīyāṃvādaviṣayakaḥ tripañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the fifty-third chapter of the Nala episode within the Vana Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, dealing with the dialogue concerning the swan and Damayantī. The narrator formally closes the chapter, marking a transition in the ethical-narrative arc of Nala’s story, where speech, discernment, and the testing of character are foregrounded.
बृहृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
This is a colophon marking the completion of a chapter; its implicit teaching is the importance of attentive listening to narrated exempla (upākhyāna) and the ethical weight of dialogue—how speech and counsel can guide discernment and character in moments of choice.
Bṛhadaśva formally concludes the chapter within the Nala episode, specifying that the section concerned with the swan–Damayantī dialogue has ended, signaling a transition to the next part of the story.