Shloka 107

नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः

Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city

Devanagari script

यथा विशोका गच्छेयमशोकनग तत्‌ कुरु । सत्यनामा भवाशोक अशोक: शोकनाशन:,“अशोकवृक्ष! तुम ऐसा करो, जिससे मैं यहाँसे शोकरहित होकर जाऊँ। अशोक उसे कहते हैं, जो शोकका नाश करनेवाला हो, अत: अशोक! तुम अपने नामको सत्य एवं सार्थक करो'

Transliteration

bṛhadaśva uvāca | yathā viśokā gaccheyam aśokanaga tat kuru | satyanāmā bhavāśoka aśokaḥ śokanāśanaḥ ||

Translation

Dijo Bṛhadaśva: «Oh árbol Aśoka, haz que yo pueda partir de aquí libre de pena. Se llama “aśoka” a quien destruye el dolor; por ello, oh Aśoka, vuelve verdadero y pleno tu nombre disipando mi tristeza.»

Word by Word

यथाso that / in such a way that

विशोकाfree from sorrow

गच्छेयम्may I go

अशोकनगO Ashoka-tree (lit. ashoka-tree-mountain/lofty tree)

तत्that (thing) / that (as said)

कुरुdo (it)

सत्यनामाone whose name is true / true-to-name

भवbe / become

अशोकO Ashoka (sorrowless one / Ashoka tree)

अशोकःAshoka (the ‘sorrowless’ one)

शोकनाशनःdestroyer of sorrow

Speaker

बृहृदश्च उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bṛhadaśva

Aśoka tree (Aśokanaga)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse plays on the word aśoka (“griefless” / “grief-destroying”) to highlight satyatā—truthfulness or authenticity: a name (and by extension a role or ideal) should be made ‘true’ through action, here by removing sorrow.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bṛhadaśva addresses an Aśoka tree directly, asking it to help him leave the place free from grief, invoking the tree’s very name as a reason it should ‘destroy sorrow’ and thus prove its name meaningful.