Shloka 29
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
कच्चिद् दृष्टस्त्वयारण्ये संगत्येह नलो नृप: । को नु मे वाथ प्रष्टव्यो वनेडस्मिन् प्रस्थितं नलम्,“क्या तुमने इस वनमें राजा नलसे मिलकर उन्हें देखा है?” ऐसा प्रश्न अब मैं इस वनमें प्रस्थान करनेवाले नलके विषयमें किससे करूँ?
kaccid dṛṣṭas tvayāraṇye saṅgatyeha nalo nṛpaḥ | ko nu me vātha praṣṭavyo vane 'smin prasthitaṃ nalam ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “Did you happen to see King Nala here in this forest—having met with him? Or else, whom can I now ask in this wilderness about Nala, who has set out and gone on his way?”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human duty of concern and responsible inquiry: when someone is lost or has departed into hardship, one should actively seek reliable information and help, rather than remain indifferent.
Bṛhadaśva questions his interlocutor about whether he has encountered King Nala in the forest; failing that, he laments that there is no one left to ask about Nala’s whereabouts after Nala has departed.