Shloka 21
Akṣa-hṛdaya-dāna and Phalāśruti of the Nalopākhyāna (अक्षहृदयदानम् / नलोपाख्यान-फलश्रुतिः)
वैदर्भी न त्वया शक््या राजापसद वीक्षितुम् | तस्यास्त्वं सपरीवारो मूढ दासत्वमागत:,पुष्करको परास्त करके राजा नलने हँसते हुए उससे कहा--“नृपाधम! अब यह शान्त और अकण्टक सारा राज्य मेरे अधिकारमें आ गया। विदर्भकुमारी दमयन्तीकी ओर तू आँख उठाकर देख भी नहीं सकता। मूर्ख! आजसे तू परिवारसहित दमयन्तीका दास हो गया
bṛhadaśva uvāca | vaidarbhī na tvayā śakyā rājāpasada vīkṣitum | tasyās tvaṃ saparīvāro mūḍha dāsatvam āgataḥ |
Bṛhadaśva said: “O disgrace of kings, you are not fit even to cast your eyes upon the princess of Vidarbha. Bewildered as you are, you have now fallen into slavery to her—together with your attendants.”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unrighteous conduct and arrogance can strip a ruler of dignity and status, while the honor of the virtuous—especially a protected queen/princess—is to be regarded as beyond the reach of the unworthy. The verse frames defeat as an ethical consequence: loss of self-mastery leads to social and moral subjugation.
In Bṛhadaśva’s narration of the Nala–Damayantī story, a speaker taunts an unworthy king after a reversal of fortune, declaring that he cannot even look at Damayantī and that he has become subject to her, along with his followers—highlighting the shame of defeat and the asserted inviolability of Damayantī.