Shloka 48
Nala’s Embassy to Damayantī and the Gods’ Proposal (नलस्य दूतत्वं देवप्रस्तावश्च)
यस्मिंश्नैव समस्तानां प्राणा गाण्डीवधन्चनि । विना महात्मना तेन गतसत्त्व इवाभवम्,“इधर जिस गाण्डीव धनुषधारी अर्जुनमें हम सबके प्राण बसते हैं, वह भी हमसे अलग है। महात्मा अर्जुनके बिना मैं निष्प्राण-सा हो गया हूँ
yasmiṁś caiva samastānāṁ prāṇā gāṇḍīvadhanvani | vinā mahātmanā tena gatasattva ivābhavam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “He in whom the very life-breath of all of us resides—Arjuna, the great-souled bearer of the Gāṇḍīva bow—has been separated from us. Without that noble Arjuna, I have become as if bereft of vitality.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a community’s morale and sense of security can rest upon a single dharmic, capable leader; separation from such a person produces a feeling of inner collapse, underscoring the ethical value of steadfast companionship and reliance on virtue.
The speaker laments that Arjuna—identified by his Gāṇḍīva bow and praised as mahātmā—has become separated from them; in his absence the speaker feels as though life and strength have left him.