Shloka 5
Akṣa-hṛdaya-dāna and Phalāśruti of the Nalopākhyāna (अक्षहृदयदानम् / नलोपाख्यान-फलश्रुतिः)
दमयन्ती च यच्चान्यन्मम किंचन विद्यते | एष वै मम संन्यासस्तव राज्यं तु पुष्कर,तदनन्तर वीरसेनपुत्र नलने पुष्करके पास जाकर कहा--“अब हम दोनों फिरसे जूआ खेलें। मैंने बहुत धन प्राप्त किया है। दमयन्ती तथा अन्य जो कुछ भी मेरे पास है, यह सब मेरी ओरसे दाँवपर लगाया जायगा और पुष्कर! तुम्हारी ओरसे सारा राज्य ही दाँवपर रखा जायगा। इस एक पणके साथ हम दोनोंमें फिर जूएका खेल प्रारम्भ हो, यह मेरा निश्चित विचार है। तुम्हारा भला हो, यदि ऐसा न कर सको तो हम दोनों अपने प्राणोंकी बाजी लगावें
damayantī ca yac cānyan mama kiṃcana vidyate | eṣa vai mama saṃnyāsas tava rājyaṃ tu puṣkara ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “Damayantī—and whatever else of any kind belongs to me—this is my stake. But, Puṣkara, let your kingdom be the stake on your side.”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral danger of gambling: it can reduce even sacred bonds and political responsibility to mere stakes. By juxtaposing Damayantī and personal possessions against a kingdom, it highlights how adharma arises when people and sovereignty are treated as objects for reckless play.
In the Nala–Damayantī episode, the speaker reports a challenge to Puṣkara for a decisive dice match: the challenger offers everything he has—explicitly including Damayantī—as his stake, and demands that Puṣkara stake his entire kingdom in return.