Shloka 4
कर्कोटक-उपदेशः
Karkoṭaka’s Counsel and Nala’s Concealment
ननु नाम महाराज धर्मज्ञ: सत्यवागसि । कथमुकत्वा तथा सत्यं सुप्तामुत्सूज्य कानने,“महाराज! आप तो धर्मज्ञ और सत्यवादी हैं; फिर वैसी सच्ची प्रतिज्ञा करके आज आप इस जंगलमें मुझे सोती छोड़कर कैसे चले गये?
nanu nāma mahārāja dharmajñaḥ satyavāg asi | katham uktvā tathā satyaṃ suptām utsṛjya kānane ||
“Indeed, O great king, you know dharma and you speak truth. How then, after making such a truthful promise, have you gone away—leaving me asleep here in the forest?”
ब॒हृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical demand that a dharma-knower and truth-speaker must align action with spoken commitment. It treats truthfulness not merely as correct speech but as fidelity to one’s pledged word, especially when another’s safety or trust depends on it.
A speaker addresses a king with pointed reproach: after giving a true promise, the king has departed and left the speaker (a woman, indicated by suptām) asleep in the forest. The line functions as a moral challenge, calling the king back to the standards of dharma and satya he is known for.