Shloka 19
दमयन्त्याः कार्यनिश्चयः — Damayantī’s Crisis Plan and Vārṣṇeya’s Departure
यथा देवै: स मे भर्ता विहितो निषधाधिप: । तेन सत्येन मे देवास्तमेव प्रदिशन्तु मे,“यदि देवताओंने उन निषधनरेश नलको ही मेरा पति निश्चित किया हो तो उस सत्यके प्रभावसे देवता-लोग मुझे उनन््हींको बतला दें
yathā devaiḥ sa me bhartā vihito niṣadhādhipaḥ | tena satyena me devās tam eva pradiśantu me ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “If the gods themselves have ordained that the lord of Niṣadha is my husband, then by the power of that truth may the gods point out to me that very man.”
बृहदश्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights satya (truth) as a moral and spiritual force: a truthful premise, invoked as satyavacana, is treated as efficacious—capable of guiding action and even eliciting divine clarification when one’s duty and rightful relationship are in question.
In Bṛhadaśva’s narration of the Nala–Damayantī episode, Damayantī appeals to the gods: if they truly ordained Nala, the king of Niṣadha, as her husband, then by that truth they should reveal and identify Nala to her.