Shloka 3
Rathaghoṣa–Saṃjñāna: Damayantī’s Inference and the Dispatch of the Envoy (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 71)
एवमुक्तस्य कौन्तेय तेन राज्ञा नलस्य ह । व्यदीर्यत मनो दुःखात् प्रदध्यौ च महामना:,कुन्तीनन्दन! राजा ऋतुपर्णके ऐसा कहनेपर राजा नलका मन अत्यन्त दुःखसे विदीर्ण होने लगा। महामना नल बहुत देरतक किसी भारी चिन्तामें निमग्न हो गये
evam uktasya kaunteya tena rājñā nalasya ha | vyadīryata mano duḥkhāt pradadhyau ca mahāmanāḥ ||
Oh hijo de Kuntī, cuando el rey Ṛtupārṇa habló así, el corazón del rey Nala se desgarró de dolor. El magnánimo Nala quedó sumido largo tiempo en honda reflexión: su lucha interior mostraba cómo la pena puede fracturar la mente y, aun así, empujarla hacia un pensar grave y escrutador, antes que a la acción precipitada.
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic response to suffering: intense grief may shatter the heart, yet the noble person turns inward to deliberate rather than acting impulsively. Reflection becomes a form of self-restraint and moral steadiness amid pain.
Bṛhadaśva tells Yudhiṣṭhira that after Ṛtupārṇa’s words, Nala is overwhelmed—his mind breaks with sorrow—and he remains absorbed in deep thought for a long time, indicating a critical emotional and decision-making moment in the Nala episode.