Shloka 12
विदर्भतनया राजन विललाप सुदुः:खिता । भर्तुशोकपरीताज़ी शिलातलमथाश्रिता,राजन! विदर्भकुमारी दमयन्तीके अंग-अंगमें पतिके वियोगका शोक व्याप्त हो गया था, इसलिये वह अत्यन्त दु:खित हो एक शिलाके नीचे भागमें बैठकर बहुत विलाप करने लगी--
bṛhadaśva uvāca | vidarbha-tanayā rājan vilalāpa suduḥkhitā | bhartuḥ-śoka-parītāṅgī śilā-talam athāśritā ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “O King, the princess of Vidarbha, overwhelmed by intense sorrow, began to lament. With every limb seized by grief for her husband, she took refuge upon the surface of a rock and wept aloud.”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human reality of grief in separation and implicitly underscores steadfast marital devotion: Damayantī’s sorrow is not mere weakness but a sign of deep fidelity and the moral weight of conjugal bonds, inviting compassion rather than judgment.
In Bṛhadaśva’s narration of the Nala–Damayantī episode, Damayantī—separated from her husband Nala—sits upon a rock and cries out in anguish, her whole being overwhelmed by grief.