Shloka 19
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
हा वीर नल नामाहं नष्टा किल तवानघ । अस्यामटण्यां घोरायां कि मां न प्रतिभाषसे,हा निष्पाप वीर नल! आपकी मैं दमयन्ती इस भयंकर वनमें नष्ट हो रही हूँ, आप मेरी बातका उत्तर क्यों नहीं देते?
hā vīra nala nāmāhaṁ naṣṭā kila tavānagha | asyām aṭavyāṁ ghorāyāṁ ki māṁ na pratibhāṣase ||
“Alas, O hero! I am Damayantī, your blameless one. I am indeed perishing in this dreadful forest—why do you not reply to me?”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of responsiveness and care: in moments of distress, silence and abandonment intensify suffering. It also underscores steadfast marital loyalty—Damayantī continues to seek and address Nala as her rightful protector even amid fear and disorientation.
In the Nala–Damayantī episode within Vana Parva, Damayantī, separated and endangered in a terrifying forest, cries out to Nala by name and pleads for an answer, expressing that she is being lost or destroyed in the wilderness.