Shloka 10
नलस्य विवस्त्रीकरणं दमयन्ती-सहानुगमनं च
Nala’s Disrobing and Damayantī’s Companionship
यस्मिन् दाक्ष्यं धृतिरज्ञानं तप: शौचं दम: शम: । ध्रुवाणि पुरुषव्याप्रे लोकपालसमे नृपे,“राजा नल सर्वगुणसम्पन्न हैं। कौन स्त्री उनका वरण नहीं करेगी? जिन्होंने भलीभाँति ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतका पालन करके चारों वेदों तथा पंचम वेद समस्त इतिहास-पुराणका भी अध्ययन किया है, जो सब धर्मोंको जानते हैं, जिनके घरपर पंचयज्ञोंमें धर्मके अनुसार सम्पूर्ण देवता नित्य तृप्त होते हैं, जो अहिंसा-परायण, सत्यवादी तथा दृढ़तापूर्वक व्रतका पालन करनेवाले हैं, जिन नरश्रेष्ठ लोकपाल-सदृश तेजस्वी नलमें दक्षता, धैर्य, ज्ञान, तप, शौच, शम और दम आदि गुण नित्य निवास करते हैं। कले! ऐसे राजा नलको जो मूढ़ शाप देनेकी इच्छा रखता है, वह मानो अपनेको ही शाप देता है। अपने द्वारा अपना ही विनाश करता है
bṛhadaśva uvāca |
yasmin dākṣyaṁ dhṛtir ajñānaṁ tapaḥ śaucaṁ damaḥ śamaḥ |
dhruvāṇi puruṣavyāghre lokapālasame nṛpe |
Bṛhadaśva said: In that tiger among men, that king who is the equal of the world-guardians, there abide unfailingly such qualities as skill, steadfastness, (freedom from) ignorance, austerity, purity, self-restraint, and inner calm. Thus Nala is portrayed as a ruler whose stable virtues make him worthy of choice and reverence, and to act against him would be to act against dharma itself.
बु॒हदश्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the ethical ideal of kingship: a ruler is truly great when stable virtues—competence, fortitude, knowledge (freedom from ignorance), austerity, purity, sense-control, and mental calm—are firmly established in him. Such inner discipline is portrayed as the foundation of righteous rule.
Bṛhadaśva is praising King Nala by listing the enduring virtues that reside in him, comparing him to the Lokapālas. This praise supports the broader Nala-upākhyāna narrative by establishing Nala’s moral and royal excellence before later trials and reversals.