Shloka 96
एवमुक्क्त्वा नलस्येष्टां महिषीं पार्थिवात्मजाम् । अन्तर्हितास्तापसास्ते साग्निहोत्राश्रमास्तथा,नलकी प्रियतमा महारानी राजकुमारी दमयन्तीसे ऐसा कहकर वे सभी तपस्वी अग्निहोत्र और आश्रमसहित अदृश्य हो गये
evam uktvā nalasya iṣṭāṁ mahiṣīṁ pārthivātmajām | antarhitās tāpasās te sāgnihotrāśramās tathā ||
Having spoken thus to Damayantī—the beloved queen of Nala, the king’s daughter—those ascetics, together with their sacred fires (agnihotra) and hermitages, vanished from sight.
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the spiritual authority of ascetics: after giving counsel, they withdraw, showing that tapas and sacred observances (like agnihotra) carry a power beyond ordinary social status. It also implies that guidance rooted in dharma is to be received with reverence, even when the advisers are transient or mysterious.
Bṛhadaśva narrates that, after speaking to Damayantī (Nala’s beloved queen), the group of ascetics suddenly becomes invisible—vanishing along with their agnihotra fires and hermitages—marking a dramatic, supernatural transition in the Nala–Damayantī story.