Shloka 10
दमयन्त्या वणिजां सार्थगमनम्, हस्तियूथविप्लवः, चेदिराजपुरप्रवेशश्च
Damayantī joins a caravan; elephant-herd catastrophe; entry into Cedi
किं नु मे स्यादिदं कृत्वा कि नु मे स्यादकुर्वत: । कि नु मे मरणं श्रेय: परित्यागो जनस्य वा,वे सोचने लगे "ऐसा करनेसे मेरा क्या होगा और यह कार्य न करनेसे भी क्या होगा। मेरा मर जाना अच्छा है कि अपनी आत्मीया दमयन्तीको त्याग देना
kiṃ nu me syād idaṃ kṛtvā kiṃ nu me syād akurvataḥ | kiṃ nu me maraṇaṃ śreyaḥ parityāgo janasya vā |
Bṛhadaśva said: “What will become of me if I do this? And what will become of me if I do not do it? Is death better for me, or is it better to abandon my own people?” Thus he fell into anxious deliberation, weighing the moral cost of action versus inaction and the grievous choice between self-destruction and forsaking those bound to him by affection and duty.
बृहदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical anguish that arises when every available option seems harmful: action may bring one kind of ruin, inaction another. It frames a dharmic dilemma—whether to accept personal loss (even death) or to commit a relational wrong (abandoning one’s own people)—and invites reflection on responsibility, consequences, and the weight of attachment.
Bṛhadaśva voices an inner debate, repeatedly asking what outcome awaits him if he proceeds versus if he refrains. His thoughts spiral toward two extreme alternatives—death or abandoning his own—showing a moment of intense crisis and uncertainty within the story’s unfolding events.