Shloka 14
Nala’s Embassy to Damayantī and the Gods’ Proposal (नलस्य दूतत्वं देवप्रस्तावश्च)
क्षात्रं धर्म महाराज त्वमवेक्षितुमहसि । न हि धर्मो महाराज क्षत्रियस्यथ वनाश्रय:,“महाराज! आप क्षत्रियरधर्मकी ओर तो देखिये। इस प्रकार वनमें रहना कदापि क्षत्रियोंका धर्म नहीं है
kṣātraṃ dharma mahārāja tvam avekṣitum arhasi | na hi dharmo mahārāja kṣatriyasyātha vanāśrayaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Oh gran rey, debes atender al dharma propio del linaje guerrero. Pues, oh gran rey, refugiarse en el bosque—vivir como un habitante del bosque—no es el dharma de un kṣatriya.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts varṇa-appropriate duty: a kṣatriya should uphold the warrior-royal code and not adopt forest-renunciation as a default path, especially when responsibilities of protection and governance remain.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana addresses a king and urges him to reflect on kṣatriya-dharma, criticizing the idea of remaining in the forest as inconsistent with a warrior’s rightful obligations.