Shloka 29
Damayantī’s Proposal of a Witnessed Choice; Nala Reports to the Lokapālas
Adhyāya 53
सफल ते भवेज्जन्म रूप॑ चेदं सुमध्यमे । वयं हि देवगन्धर्वमनुष्योरगराक्षसान्
saphala te bhavej janma rūpaṁ cedaṁ sumadhyame | vayaṁ hi devagandharva-manuṣyoraga-rākṣasān
Dijo Bṛhadaśva: «Oh dama de esbelta cintura, si esta belleza tuya va acompañada de virtud y recta conducta, entonces tu nacimiento será verdaderamente fecundo. Pues hemos visto y conocido muchas clases de seres—dioses, gandharvas, hombres, serpientes y rākṣasas—y, sin embargo, es el carácter el que otorga un valor duradero, más allá de la sola apariencia».
बृहृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts outward beauty with inner worth: a life becomes truly “fruitful” when beauty is accompanied by dharmic conduct and virtue; mere appearance is not the final measure of value.
Bṛhadaśva addresses a woman respectfully (“sumadhyame”) and begins a reflective statement: having encountered many orders of beings—divine, celestial, human, serpentine, and demonic—he frames his counsel around what makes a person’s life meaningful beyond external form.