Shloka 6
नलस्य विवस्त्रीकरणं दमयन्ती-सहानुगमनं च
Nala’s Disrobing and Damayantī’s Companionship
देवानां मानुषं मध्ये यत् सा पतिमविन्दत । ततस्तस्या भवेन्न्याय्यं विपुलं दण्डधारणम्,“दमयन्तीने देवताओंके बीचमें मनुष्यका पतिरूपमें वरण किया है। अतः उसे बड़ा भारी दण्ड देना उचित प्रतीत होता है”
bṛhadaśva uvāca |
devānāṃ mānuṣaṃ madhye yat sā patim avindata |
tatas tasyā bhaven nyāyyaṃ vipulaṃ daṇḍadhāraṇam ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “Since she chose a human husband from among the gods, it would therefore seem proper that a severe punishment be imposed upon her.”
बु॒हदश्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical-legal inference: a choice made against an expected hierarchy (preferring a human over gods) is presented as grounds for daṇḍa (punitive consequence). It highlights how ‘nyāya’ (propriety/justice) is argued from perceived social-cosmic norms, even when the narrative later complicates such judgments.
Bṛhadaśva, recounting the Nala–Damayantī story, states that because she selected a human husband from among the gods, it would be considered fitting to subject her to a heavy punishment—reflecting the gods’ displeasure and setting up the tension between personal choice and divine expectation.