Shloka 45
Sudeva Identifies Damayantī in Cedi (सुदेवेन दमयन्ती-परिचयः)
गच्छन्ती साचिरादू् बाला पुरमासादयन्महत् | सायाद्वे चेदिराजस्य सुबाहो: सत्यदर्शिन:,नृपश्रेष्ठी तदनन्तर मरनेसे बचे हुए वेदोंके पारंगत दिद्वान् ब्राह्मणोंके साथ यात्रा करती हुई शरत्कालके चन्द्रमाकी कलाके समान वह सुन्दरी युवती थोड़े ही समयमें संध्या होते- होते सत्यदर्शी चेदिराज सुबाहुकी राजधानीमें जा पहुँची
bṛhadaśva uvāca |
gacchantī sā cirād bālā puram āsādayan mahat |
syād vā cedīrājasya subāhoḥ satyadarśinaḥ ||
Bṛhadaśva said: After a time, the young maiden, traveling onward and approaching a great city, reached—by evening—the capital of Subāhu, the Cedi king renowned for truthful vision. She journeyed in the company of learned brāhmaṇas, masters of the Vedas, and her beauty was likened to a digit of the autumn moon—suggesting purity, restraint, and auspiciousness amid the uncertainties of travel.
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse implicitly upholds dharma through the ideals of safe conduct and truthful governance: a vulnerable traveler is associated with learned brāhmaṇas (social protection and propriety), and the destination is a king praised as satyadarśin, suggesting that truth and discernment are foundational virtues of righteous rule.
The narrator Bṛhadaśva describes a young maiden traveling for some time and then arriving by evening at the great capital of Subāhu, the Cedi king. The scene emphasizes her auspicious beauty and the respectable company of Veda-knowing brāhmaṇas during the journey.