Shloka 5
नलस्य दमयन्त्युत्सर्गः
Nala’s Abandonment of Damayantī in the Lodging Hall
अक्षदय्यूते नल॑ जेता भवान् हि सहितो मया । निषधान् प्रतिपद्यस्व जित्वा राज्यं नल॑ नृपम्,मेरे साथ रहकर तुम जूएमें अवश्य राजा नलको जीत लोगे। इस प्रकार महाराज नलको उनके राज्यसहित जीतकर निषधदेशको अपने अधिकारमें कर लो'
akṣadyūte nala jetā bhavān hi sahito mayā | niṣadhān pratipadyasva jitvā rājyaṃ nala nṛpam ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “In the dice-game you will surely defeat King Nala, for I shall be with you. Having conquered Nala along with his kingdom, take possession of Niṣadha and bring it under your control.” The verse frames gambling not as sport but as a calculated instrument of dispossession, revealing the ethical corrosion that follows when power is pursued through deceit and addiction rather than dharma.
ब॒हृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adharma can operate through seemingly “legal” means like gambling: a ruler’s loss of self-mastery (and others’ exploitation of it) becomes a pathway to unjust seizure of sovereignty. It implicitly warns that power gained through deceit and addiction undermines righteous kingship.
Bṛhadaśva tells the addressee (in the Nala episode, the instigator of the dice-match) that with his support Nala will be defeated in dice, and that after winning, the victor should take over Niṣadha—conquering Nala together with his kingdom.