Shloka 11

Damayantī’s Recognition by the Piplū Mark and Her Return to Vidarbha

Devanagari script

पदानि गणयन्‌ गच्छ स्वानि नैषध कानिचित्‌ | तत्र ते5हं महाबाहों श्रेयो धास्यामि यत्‌ परम्‌,“नैषध! आप अपने कुछ पग गिनते हुए चलिये। महाबाहो! ऐसा करनेपर मैं आपके लिये परम कल्याणका साधन करूँगा'

Transliteration

padāni gaṇayan gaccha svāni naiṣadha kānicit | tatra te 'haṃ mahābāho śreyo dhāsyāmi yat param ||

Translation

Bṛhadaśva said: “O Naiṣadha, walk on, counting a few of your own steps. O mighty-armed one, when you do so, I shall confer upon you the highest means of welfare.”

Word by Word

• {'padāni': 'steps, footsteps', 'gaṇayan': 'counting, enumerating', 'gaccha': 'go, walk', 'svāni': 'your own', 'naiṣadha': 'O Naiṣadha (Nala, king of Niṣadha)', 'kānicit': 'some, a few', 'tatra': 'thereupon, in that act/at that point', 'te': 'for you, to you', 'aham': 'I', 'mahābāho': 'O mighty-armed one (honorific epithet)', 'śreyaḥ': 'welfare, good, auspicious benefit', 'dhāsyāmi': 'I shall place/bestow/teach (future of √dhā)', 'yat param': 'which is supreme, the highest'}

Speaker

ब॒हदश्व उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bṛhadaśva
• Naiṣadha (Nala)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames instruction as a deliberate, disciplined act: by carefully counting his steps and following guidance, Nala becomes fit to receive “parama-śreyas”—a supreme beneficial teaching. It highlights humility, attentiveness, and readiness as prerequisites for transformative knowledge.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bṛhadaśva addresses Nala (called Naiṣadha) and asks him to walk while counting a few steps. He promises that, in connection with this act, he will bestow on Nala a supreme means of welfare—introducing an imminent transmission of special knowledge or skill within the Nala narrative of the Vana Parva.