Shloka 1
नलस्य दमयन्त्युत्सर्गः
Nala’s Abandonment of Damayantī in the Lodging Hall
हि >> लय >> () है 7 एकोनषशष्टितमो< ध्याय: नलमें कलियुगका प्रवेश एवं नल और पुष्करकी द्यूतक्रीडा, प्रजा और दमयन्तीके निवारण करनेपर भी राजाका द्यूतसे निवृत्त नहीं होना ब॒हृदश्चव उवाच एवं स समयं कृत्वा द्वापरेण कलि: सह । आजगाम ततत्तत्र यत्र राजा स नैषध:,बृहदश्च मुनि कहते हैं--राजन्! इस प्रकार द्वापरके साथ संकेत करके कलियुग उस स्थानपर आया, जहाँ निषधराज नल रहते थे
Bṛhadaśva uvāca: evaṃ sa samayaṃ kṛtvā dvāpareṇa kaliḥ saha | ājagāma tataḥ tatra yatra rājā sa naiṣadhaḥ ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “Having thus made an agreement with Dvāpara, Kali came to that very place where the Naiṣadha king (Nala) was dwelling.” Ethically, the verse signals how moral decline does not seize a person at random: it advances when conditions are arranged—through alliances, timing, and a vulnerable point in the ruler’s conduct.
ब॒हृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ethical downfall often begins through a prepared opening: harmful forces gain entry when one’s discipline is weakened and when adverse influences combine. The verse frames Kali’s ‘entry’ as deliberate and conditional, highlighting the need for vigilance in a ruler’s conduct.
Bṛhadaśva narrates that Kali, after making a compact with Dvāpara, arrives at the place where King Nala lives—setting the stage for Kali’s influence over Nala and the ensuing dice-related calamity.