Shloka 24
सापश्यद् विबुधान् सर्वानस्वेदान् स्तब्धलोचनान् | हृषितस्रग्रजोहीनान् स्थितानस्पृशत: क्षितिम्,अब दमयन्तीने देखा--सम्पूर्ण देवता स्वेदरहित हैं--उनके किसी अंगमें पसीनेकी बूँद नहीं दिखायी देती, उनकी आँखोंकी पलकें नहीं गिरती हैं। उन्होंने जो पुष्पमालाएँ पहन रखी हैं, वे नूतन विकाससे युक्त हैं--कुम्हलाती नहीं हैं। उनपर धूल-कण नहीं पड़ रहे हैं। वे सिंहासनोंपर बैठे हैं, किंतु अपने पैरोंसे पृथ्वीतलका स्पर्श नहीं करते हैं और उनकी परछाईं नहीं पड़ती है
sāpaśyad vibudhān sarvān asvedān stabdhalocanān | hṛṣitasragrajohīnān sthitān aspṛśataḥ kṣitim ||
Bṛhadaśva said: She beheld all the gods—free from sweat, their gaze unblinking. Their garlands remained fresh and fully blossomed, never withering; no dust clung to them. Though seated in their splendid seats, they did not touch the earth with their feet. The vision marked them as beings beyond ordinary bodily limitation, revealing a realm where purity, radiance, and effortless order prevail.
बृहदश्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the unmistakable marks of the divine—freedom from bodily limitations (no sweat, no dust, unwithering garlands). Ethically, it suggests discernment: true greatness is recognized not by display alone but by intrinsic qualities such as purity, steadiness, and transcendence of ordinary impulses.
Damayantī is witnessing the assembled gods at the svayaṃvara. Their supernatural characteristics—unblinking eyes, sweatlessness, dustlessness, ever-fresh garlands, and not touching the ground—signal that they are not human suitors but divine beings present in the hall.