Shloka 9
Parṇāda’s Report; Bāhuka’s Counsel; Damayantī’s Strategic Svayaṃvara Message (अध्याय ६८)
निबद्धां धूमजालेन प्रभामिव विभावसो: । तां समीक्ष्य विशालाक्षीमधिकं मलिनां कृशाम् | तर्कयामास भैमीति कारणैरुपपादयन्,वह राजाके पुण्याहवाचनके समय सुनन्दाके साथ खड़ी थी। उसका अनुपम रूप (मैलसे आवृत होनेके कारण) मन्द-मन्द प्रकाशित हो रहा था, मानो अग्निकी प्रभा धूमसमूहसे आवृत हो रही हो। विशाल नेत्रोंवाली उस राजकुमारीको अधिक मलिन और दुर्बल देख उपर्युक्त कारणोंसे उसकी पहचान करते हुए सुदेवने निश्चय किया कि यह भीमकुमारी दमयन्ती ही है
nibaddhāṃ dhūmajālena prabhām iva vibhāvasoḥ | tāṃ samīkṣya viśālākṣīm adhikaṃ malināṃ kṛśām || tarkayāmāsa bhaimīti kāraṇair upapādayan |
Bṛhadaśva said: Seeing her—like the radiance of fire veiled by a net of smoke—her beauty bound and dimmed by grime, that large-eyed woman now especially soiled and emaciated, he reasoned it out and, supporting his conclusion with signs, determined: “This is Bhīmī (Damayantī).” The verse also commends careful discernment: identity is not judged by outward decline alone, but established through attentive observation and rational inference amid suffering.
ब॒हदश्व उवाच