Shloka 39
कर्कोटक-उपदेशः
Karkoṭaka’s Counsel and Nala’s Concealment
उक्तमात्रे तु वचने तथा स मृगजीवन: । व्यसु: पपात मेदिन्यामग्निदग्ध इव द्रुम:,दमयन्तीके इतना कहते ही वह व्याध आगसे जले हुए वृक्षकी भाँति प्राणशून्य होकर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ा
uktamātre tu vacane tathā sa mṛgajīvanaḥ | vyasuḥ papāta medinyām agnidagdha iva drumaḥ ||
As soon as those words were spoken, the hunter—whose livelihood depended on killing deer—collapsed lifeless upon the earth, like a tree scorched and felled by fire.
ब॒हृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the swift and severe consequences that can follow a life rooted in हिंसा (violence) and अधर्म (unrighteous conduct). It also emphasizes the potency of truthful confrontation: when wrongdoing is brought to light, moral causality (karma) can manifest immediately.
Bṛhadaśva continues narrating the Nala–Damayantī episode. At the very moment certain words are spoken (contextually, words that expose or condemn the hunter’s act), the hunter who lives by killing deer suddenly drops dead on the ground, compared to a fire-burnt tree collapsing.