Shloka 19

Devanagari script

तेनार्थ वाससश्कछित्त्वा निवस्य च परंतप: । सुप्तामुत्सृज्य वैदर्भी प्राद्रवद्‌ गतचेतनाम्‌,उसीसे दमयन्तीका आधा वस्त्र काटकर परंतप नलने उसके द्वारा अपना शरीर ढँक लिया और अचेत सोती हुई विदर्भराजकुमारी दमयन्तीको वहीं छोड़कर वे शीघ्रतासे चले गये

Transliteration

tenārthaṃ vāsasaś chittvā nivasya ca parantapaḥ | suptām utsṛjya vaidarbhīṃ prādravad gatacetanām ||

Translation

For the sake of clothing, the scorcher of foes (Nala) cut the garment in two and wrapped himself in it. Then, abandoning the Vidarbha princess Damayantī as she lay asleep and senseless, he hurried away—an act born of delusion and desperation, carrying grave ethical weight as a breach of marital protection (rakṣaṇa) even amid calamity.

Word by Word

तेनwith that (by means of that)

अर्धवाससःof half of the garment

छित्त्वाhaving cut

निवस्यhaving put on (worn)

चand

परंतपःthe scorcher of foes (Nala)

सुप्ताम्sleeping

उत्सृज्यhaving abandoned/left behind

वैदर्भीम्the princess of Vidarbha (Damayantī)

प्राद्रवत्ran forth / hastened away

गतचेतनाम्unconscious (one whose mind had gone)

Speaker

बृहदश्च उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nala (parantapaḥ)

Damayantī (Vaidarbhī)

garment/cloth (vāsas)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even under extreme distress, dharma emphasizes protection of those dependent on us—especially one’s spouse. The verse highlights how delusion and fear can drive a person to violate this duty, setting up the moral and karmic consequences that follow in the narrative.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nala, in a desperate state, cuts their garment to obtain clothing for himself, leaves Damayantī asleep and unconscious in the wilderness, and flees quickly—marking the painful separation central to the Nala–Damayantī episode.