Shloka 3
दमयन्त्याः अरण्यविहारः — Damayantī’s Passage through the Wilderness
शिष्टा ते दमयन्त्येका सर्वमन्यज्जितं मया । दमयन्त्या: पण: साधु वर्ततां यदि मन्यसे,“तुम्हारे पास केवल दमयन्ती शेष रह गयी है और सब वस्तुएँ तो मैंने जीत ली हैं, यदि तुम्हारी राय हो तो दमयन्तीको दाँवपर रखकर एक बार फिर जूआ खेला जाय”
bṛhadaśva uvāca | śiṣṭā te damayanty ekā sarvam anyaj jitaṃ mayā | damayantyāḥ paṇaḥ sādhu vartatāṃ yadi manyase ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “Only Damayantī remains to you; everything else I have won. If you agree, let Damayantī herself be set as the stake, and let the gambling proceed once more.”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse caused by gambling: when desire to win overrides dharma, even a person’s dignity and relationships are treated as property. It implicitly warns against addiction, objectification, and adharma in the name of play or gain.
Bṛhadaśva narrates a moment in the Nala–Damayantī story where, after winning everything else, the gambler proposes that Damayantī be placed as the final wager, urging another round if the other party consents.