Shloka 28
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
प्रस्थितं वा नरश्रेष्ठ मम शोकविवर्धन । क॑ नु पृच्छामि दुः:खार्ता त्वदर्थे शोककर्शिता,मेरे शोकको बढ़ानेवाले नरश्रेष्ठ। आप यहीं हैं या कहीं अन्यत्र चल दिये, यह मैं किससे पूछँ? आपके लिये शोकसे दुर्बल होकर मैं अत्यन्त दुःखसे आतुर हो रही हूँ
prasthitaṃ vā naraśreṣṭha mama śokavivardhana | kaṃ nu pṛcchāmi duḥkhārtā tvadarthe śokakarśitā ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “O best of men, you who only increase my sorrow—have you departed, or are you still here? In my anguish, whom can I even ask? Worn down by grief on your account, I am overwhelmed with pain.”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and emotional weight of separation: attachment and responsibility can intensify grief, and in distress the mind searches for guidance yet finds no clear refuge. It underscores compassion for human frailty and the need for steadiness (dhairya) amid loss.
A speaker (introduced as Bṛhadaśva) voices a lament to a ‘best of men,’ anxiously wondering whether he has left or is still present. Overcome by sorrow ‘because of you,’ the speaker feels helpless, not knowing whom to ask for certainty or comfort.