Shloka 2
Damayantī’s Proposal of a Witnessed Choice; Nala Reports to the Lokapālas
Adhyāya 53
अतिष्ठन्मनुजेन्द्राणां मूर्थ्नि देवपतिर्य था । उपर्युपरि सर्वेषामादित्य इव तेजसा,जैसे देवराज इन्द्र सम्पूर्ण देवताओंके शिरमौर हैं, उसी प्रकार राजा नलका स्थान समस्त राजाओंके ऊपर था। वे तेजमें भगवान् सूर्यके समान सर्वोपरि थे। निषधदेशके महाराज नल बड़े ब्राह्मणभक्त, वेदवेत्ता, शूरवीर, द्यूत-क्रीड़ाके प्रेमी, सत्यवादी, महान् और एक अक्षौहिणी सेनाके स्वामी थे
atiṣṭhan manujendrāṇāṁ mūrdhni devapatir yathā | uparyupari sarveṣām āditya iva tejasā ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “Just as Indra, lord of the gods, stands at the head of the celestial beings, so King Nala stood above all kings. In splendor he surpassed them all, radiant like the Sun.” The verse frames Nala’s eminence not merely as political rank but as a moral and charismatic supremacy—an ideal of kingship measured by brilliance, authority, and the capacity to inspire order among rulers.
बृहृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ethical ideal of rulership: true sovereignty is marked by ‘tejas’—a radiance that signifies authority, excellence, and the capacity to stand foremost among peers, like Indra among gods and the Sun among lights.
Bṛhadaśva is describing King Nala’s extraordinary stature among kings, using divine similes (Indra and the Sun) to emphasize that Nala was pre-eminent in rank and brilliance.