Shloka 9
Damayantī’s Proposal of a Witnessed Choice; Nala Reports to the Lokapālas
Adhyāya 53
दमयन्तीं दमं दान्तं दमनं च सुवर्चसम् । उपपन्नान् गुणै: सर्वैर्भीमान् भीमपराक्रमान्,कन्याका नाम था दमयन्ती और पुत्रोंके नाम थे--दम, दान्त तथा दमन। ये सभी बड़े तेजस्वी थे। राजाके तीनों पुत्र गुणसम्पन्न, भयंकर वीर और भयानक पराक्रमी थे
damayantīṁ damaṁ dāntaṁ damanaṁ ca suvarcasam | upapannān guṇaiḥ sarvair bhīmān bhīmaparākramān ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “(Nala and Damayantī had children:) a daughter named Damayantī, and three sons—Dama, Dānta, and Damana—radiant in splendor. Endowed with every virtue, they were formidable and possessed of fearsome prowess.”
बृहृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links noble birth with cultivated qualities: the children are praised not merely for lineage but for guṇas—discipline, radiance, and valor—suggesting that true royal excellence is ethical and character-based.
Bṛhadaśva continues recounting Nala’s story by naming Nala and Damayantī’s children and describing them as radiant, virtuous, and formidable in prowess.