Shloka 5
Rathaghoṣa–Saṃjñāna: Damayantī’s Inference and the Dispatch of the Envoy (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 71)
नृशंसं बत वैदर्भी भर्तृकामा तपस्विनी । मया क्षुद्रेण निकृता कृपणा पापबुद्धिना,“तपस्विनी एवं दीन विदर्भराजकुमारीको मुझ नीच एवं पापबुद्धि पुरुषने धोखा दिया है, इसीलिये वह ऐसा निष्ठछुर कार्य करनेको उद्यत हो गयी। संसारमें स्त्रीका चंचल स्वभाव प्रसिद्ध है। मेरा अपराध भी भयंकर है। सम्भव है मेरे प्रवाससे उसका हार्दिक स्नेह कम हो गया हो, अतः वह ऐसा भी कर ले
nṛśaṃsaṃ bata vaidarbhī bhartṛkāmā tapasvinī | mayā kṣudreṇa nikṛtā kṛpaṇā pāpabuddhinā ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “Alas, how cruel a course the princess of Vidarbha—faithful to her husband and devoted to austerity—has been driven toward! Deceived by me, a petty and sinful-minded man, that poor woman has been wronged.”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds moral accountability: the speaker recognizes that deceit and petty-minded wrongdoing inflict suffering on the innocent, and that acknowledging one’s fault is the first step toward ethical repair.
Bṛhadaśva laments the plight of the Vidarbha princess (Damayantī), describing her as devoted and husband-longing, and confesses that his own deceitful, sinful conduct has wronged her and pushed her toward a harsh course of action.