Shloka 129
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
कुञ्जरद्वीपिमहिषशार्दूलर्क्षमृगानपि । पश्याम्यस्मिन् वने कृत्स्ने हामनुष्यनिषेविते,“यह सम्पूर्ण वन मनुष्येतर प्राणियोंसे भरा है। इसके भीतर हाथियों, चीतों, भैंसों सिंहों, रीछों और मृगोंको ही मैं देखता आ रहा हूँ
kuñjaradvīpimahiṣaśārdūlarkṣamṛgān api | paśyāmy asmin vane kṛtsne hāmanuṣyaniṣevite ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “In this entire forest, which is not frequented by human beings, I keep seeing only wild creatures—elephants, leopards, buffaloes, tigers, bears, and deer.”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the stark otherness of the wilderness: a place largely outside human society, where one must recognize and respect the domain of non-human life—an implicit reminder of humility and caution in exile.
Bṛhadaśva describes the forest as wholly dominated by wild animals and scarcely visited by humans, emphasizing the Pandavas’ (or the listener’s) isolation and the dangers and realities of living in the wild.