Shloka 14
नलस्य विवस्त्रीकरणं दमयन्ती-सहानुगमनं च
Nala’s Disrobing and Damayantī’s Companionship
भ्रंशयिष्यामि तं राज्यान्न भैम्या सह रंस्यते । त्वमप्यक्षान् समाविश्य साहाय्य॑ कर्तुमहसि,तदनन्तर देवताओंके चले जानेपर कलियुगने द्वापरसे कहा--'द्वापर! मैं अपने क्रोधका उपसंहार नहीं कर सकता। नलके भीतर निवास करूँगा और उन्हें राज्यसे वंचित कर दूँगा। जिससे वे दमयन्तीसे रमण नहीं कर सकेंगे। तुम्हें भी जूएके पासोंमें प्रवेश करके मेरी सहायता करनी चाहिये”
bṛhadaśva uvāca |
bhraṃśayiṣyāmi taṃ rājyān na bhaimyā saha raṃsyate |
tvam apy akṣān samāviśya sāhāyyaṃ kartum arhasi ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “I shall drive him from his kingdom; he will not be able to enjoy life together with Bhīmā’s daughter (Damayantī). You too should enter the dice and render me assistance.” In context, Kali’s resolve is to punish King Nala through the vice of gambling—an ethical warning that uncontrolled anger and envy seek entry through human weaknesses, and that a ruler’s lapse in self-mastery can unravel both sovereignty and domestic harmony.
बु॒हदश्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames gambling as a gateway for destructive forces: when anger and envy are indulged, they exploit human weaknesses and can strip a ruler of both political stability and personal happiness. It cautions that sovereignty depends on self-mastery and vigilance against vice.
In Bṛhadaśva’s retelling of the Nala–Damayantī story, Kali declares his intent to enter Nala and ruin him by orchestrating a dice-game. He asks Dvāpara to enter the dice as an accomplice, so that Nala will be deprived of his kingdom and separated from joyful life with Damayantī.