Shloka 11
नलस्य दमयन्त्युत्सर्गः
Nala’s Abandonment of Damayantī in the Lodging Hall
ततः पौरजना: सर्वे मन्त्रेभि: सह भारत । राजानं द्रष्टमागच्छन् निवारयितुमातुरम्,भारत! तदनन्तर समस्त पुरवासी मनुष्य मन्त्रियोंके साथ राजासे मिलने तथा उन आतुर नरेशको द्यूतक्रीडासे रोकनेके लिये वहाँ आये
tataḥ paurajanāḥ sarve mantrebhiḥ saha bhārata | rājānaṃ draṣṭum āgacchan nivārayitum āturam ||
Then all the townspeople, together with the ministers, came there, O Bhārata, to see the king and to restrain that eager, impetuous ruler from engaging in the dice-game. The scene underscores a civic and ethical impulse: responsible elders and citizens attempt to check a king’s self-destructive passion and avert the moral and political ruin that follows from addiction to gambling.
ब॒हृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king’s impulses must be checked by counsel and community responsibility; gambling is portrayed as a morally and politically dangerous passion, and restraint (self-control supported by wise advisers) is aligned with dharma.
The citizens of the city, accompanied by the ministers, go to meet the king with the intention of stopping him—who is keen and agitated—from proceeding into a dice-game.