Shloka 107
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
यथा विशोका गच्छेयमशोकनग तत् कुरु । सत्यनामा भवाशोक अशोक: शोकनाशन:,“अशोकवृक्ष! तुम ऐसा करो, जिससे मैं यहाँसे शोकरहित होकर जाऊँ। अशोक उसे कहते हैं, जो शोकका नाश करनेवाला हो, अत: अशोक! तुम अपने नामको सत्य एवं सार्थक करो'
bṛhadaśva uvāca | yathā viśokā gaccheyam aśokanaga tat kuru | satyanāmā bhavāśoka aśokaḥ śokanāśanaḥ ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “O Aśoka tree, do this so that I may depart from here free of sorrow. One is called ‘aśoka’ because he destroys grief; therefore, O Aśoka, make your name true and meaningful by dispelling my sorrow.”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse plays on the word aśoka (“griefless” / “grief-destroying”) to highlight satyatā—truthfulness or authenticity: a name (and by extension a role or ideal) should be made ‘true’ through action, here by removing sorrow.
Bṛhadaśva addresses an Aśoka tree directly, asking it to help him leave the place free from grief, invoking the tree’s very name as a reason it should ‘destroy sorrow’ and thus prove its name meaningful.