Shloka 50
Nala’s Embassy to Damayantī and the Gods’ Proposal (नलस्य दूतत्वं देवप्रस्तावश्च)
अस्ति राजा मया कश्चिदल्पभाग्यतरो भुवि | भवता दृष्टपूर्वो वा श्रुतपूर्वोडपि वा क्वचित् | न मत्तो दुःखिततर: पुमानस्तीति मे मति:,“क्या मेरे-जैसा अत्यन्त भाग्यहीन राजा इस पृथ्वीपर कोई दूसरा भी है? अथवा आपने कहीं मेरे-जैसे किसी राजाको पहले कभी देखा या सुना है। मेरा तो यह विश्वास है कि मुझसे बढ़कर अत्यन्त दुःखी मनुष्य दूसरा कोई नहीं है”
asti rājā mayā kaścid alpabhāgyataro bhuvi | bhavatā dṛṣṭapūrvo vā śrutapūrvo ’pi vā kvacit | na matto duḥkhitataraḥ pumān astīti me matiḥ |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “There is a certain king known to me, most ill-fated upon the earth. Have you ever, anywhere, seen or even heard of one like him? For it is my settled conviction that no man is more afflicted with sorrow than I.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how grief can narrow one’s perspective into believing one’s suffering is unparalleled. Ethically, it invites reflection on humility, resilience, and the need to seek counsel rather than absolutize personal misfortune.
In Vaiśaṃpāyana’s narration, a king—overwhelmed by calamity—addresses another person respectfully, asking whether anyone has ever seen or heard of a king as unlucky as himself, and declaring that none is more miserable than he.