Shloka 84
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
'युद्धमें उन्होंने कितने ही शत्रुओंका संहार किया है। वे सूर्य और चन्द्रमाके समान तेजस्वी और कान्तिमान् हैं। एक दिन कुछ कपटकुशल, अजितेन्द्रिय, अनार्य, कुटिल तथा द्यूतनिपुण जुआरिओंने उन सत्य-धर्मपरायण महाराज नलको जूएके लिये आवाहन करके उनके सारे राज्य और धनका अपहरण कर लिया ।। तस्य मामवगच्छध्वं भार्या राजर्षभस्य वै । दमयन्तीति विख्यातां भर्तुर्दर्शनलालसाम्,“आप दमयन्ती नामसे विख्यात मुझे उन्हीं नृपश्रेष्ठ नलकी पत्नी जानें। मैं अपने स्वामीके दर्शनके लिये उत्सुक हो रही हूँ
yuddhe te bahūn śatrūn saṁjahruḥ; sūryacandramasor iva tejasvinaḥ kāntimantaś ca. ekadā tu kecit kapaṭakuśalā ajitendriyā anāryāḥ kuṭilā dyūtanipuṇā dyūtakarāḥ satyadharmaparāyaṇaṁ mahārājaṁ nalaṁ dyūtāya āhūya tasya sarvaṁ rājyaṁ dhanaṁ cāpahṛtya jagmuḥ. tasya mām avagacchadhvaṁ bhāryāṁ rājarṣabhasya vai, damayantīm iti vikhyātāṁ bhartur darśanalālasām.
In war he has slain many enemies; he shines with splendor and beauty like the sun and the moon. Yet one day certain gamblers—skilled in deceit, lacking self-control, ignoble, crooked, and expert at dice—challenged the truth- and dharma-devoted King Nala to play, and by that game carried off all his kingdom and wealth. Know me to be the wife of that bull among kings: I am famed as Damayantī, longing to behold my husband.
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a radiant and valorous king devoted to truth and dharma can be brought to ruin through association with deceit and the vice of gambling; the passage also highlights steadfast marital fidelity and the ethical contrast between noble conduct (ārya) and ignoble deceit (anārya).
Bṛhadaśva recounts how King Nala, though mighty and illustrious, was summoned to a dice game by crafty gamblers who then stripped him of his kingdom and wealth; Damayantī identifies herself as Nala’s wife and declares her yearning to see her husband.