Shloka 15
Akṣa-hṛdaya-dāna and Phalāśruti of the Nalopākhyāna (अक्षहृदयदानम् / नलोपाख्यान-फलश्रुतिः)
देवनेन मम प्रीतिर्न भवत्यसुहद्रणै: । जित्वा त्वद्य वरारोहां दमयन्तीमनिन्दिताम्
devanena mama prītir na bhavaty asuhṛd-raṇaiḥ | jitvā tv adya varārohāṃ damayantīm aninditām ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “I take no pleasure in gambling, nor in contests waged with those who bear ill-will. Yet today, having conquered the blameless Damayantī—she of noble form—I shall indeed be satisfied.”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts ethically suspect pleasures—gambling and hostile contention—with the desire for a ‘victory’ framed as legitimate conquest. It implicitly raises a dharmic question: true satisfaction should not arise from vice (dice) or enmity-driven struggle, and even ‘victory’ must be examined for its moral basis.
Bṛhadaśva speaks about what does and does not please him: he rejects delight in gambling and in fighting with ill-disposed opponents, yet declares that he will be pleased today after ‘conquering’ Damayantī, described as noble and blameless—language that signals a contest or claim over her within the episode’s unfolding events.