Shloka 13
Adhyāya 76: Kuṇḍina-praveśaḥ, Bhīmena satkāraḥ, Ṛtuparṇa-kṣamā, Aśvahṛdaya-pratyarpanam
Nala’s Reception and Reconciliation
साक्षाद् देवानपाहाय वृतो य: स पुरा मया | अनुव्रतां साभिकामा पुत्रिणीं त्यक्तवान् कथम्,“पहले स्वयंवरके समय साक्षात् देवताओंको छोड़कर मैंने उनका वरण किया था। मैं उनकी अनुगत भक्त, निरन्तर उन्हें चाहनेवाली और पुत्रवती हूँ, तो भी उन्होंने कैसे मुझे त्याग दिया?
sākṣād devān apāhāya vṛto yaḥ sa purā mayā | anuvratāṃ sābhikāmāṃ putriṇīṃ tyaktavān katham ||
‘In former days, at the time of the svayaṃvara, I chose him—passing over even the gods who stood before me. I have been devoted to him, faithful in conduct, ever desirous of him, and I am a mother of his children; how, then, could he abandon me?’
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension between personal desire and marital duty: a wife appeals to dharma by citing her prior choice, fidelity, and motherhood, implying that abandonment violates the reciprocal obligations of marriage and the protection owed to one who has surrendered trust and social standing.
Within Bṛhadaśva’s narration, a woman laments that the man she once selected at a svayaṃvara—rejecting even divine suitors—has nevertheless abandoned her, despite her steadfast devotion and the fact that she has borne him children.