Shloka 16
कर्कोटक-उपदेशः
Karkoṭaka’s Counsel and Nala’s Concealment
यस्याभिशापाद् दुः:खारतों दुःखं विन्दति नैषध: । तस्य भूतस्य नो दुःखाद् दुःखमप्यधिकं भवेत्,“जिसके अभिशापसे निषधनरेश नल दुःखसे पीड़ित हो क्लेश-पर-क्लेश उठाते जा रहे हैं, उस प्राणीको हमलोगोंके दुःखसे भी अधिक दु:ख प्राप्त हो
yasyābhiśāpād duḥkhārto duḥkhaṃ vindati naiṣadhaḥ | tasya bhūtasya no duḥkhād duḥkham apy adhikaṃ bhavet ||
‘By whose curse the king of Niṣadha, Nala, already afflicted, keeps meeting sorrow upon sorrow—may that being come to suffer a grief even greater than ours.’
ब॒हृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intense grief can turn into a wish for retribution against an unknown cause of suffering; ethically, it cautions that sorrow may provoke harsh judgments and vengeful speech, contrasting with the ideal of restraint and compassion.
In the Nala episode within Vana Parva, the speaker refers to Nala’s continuing miseries as caused by a curse and utters a malediction: may the one responsible for Nala’s suffering endure an even greater sorrow than the speaker’s own.