Shloka 57

नलस्य विवस्त्रीकरणं दमयन्ती-सहानुगमनं च

Nala’s Disrobing and Damayantī’s Companionship

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत दमयन्ती-स्वयंवरविषयक सत्तावनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārata-vanaparvake antargata-damayantī-svayaṁvara-viṣayakaḥ sattāvanavāṁ adhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ

Translation

Thus ends the fifty-seventh chapter of the Vana Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, dealing with the topic of Damayantī’s svayaṃvara.

Word by Word

इतिthus

प्रकारम्manner/way

श्रीमहाभारतthe revered Mahabharata

वनपर्वthe Forest Book (Vana Parva)

अन्तर्गतincluded/contained (within)

दमयन्तीof Damayanti

स्वयंवरof the svayamvara (self-choice ceremony)

विषयकconcerning/pertaining to

सत्तावनवाँfifty-seventh

अध्यायःchapter

पूरःcomplete

अभवत्was/ended

Speaker

बृहदश्व उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Vana Parva

Damayantī

Svayaṃvara

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line functions as a colophon: it teaches attentiveness to textual structure—chapters conclude with formal markers that preserve the integrity of transmission and signal a completed thematic unit (here, Damayantī’s svayaṃvara).

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker closes the chapter, stating that the section within the Vana Parva concerning Damayantī’s svayaṃvara has been completed.