Shloka 12
दमयन्तीवाक्य-प्रेषणम्
Damayantī’s Message and the Dispatch of Brahmin Envoys
आयुष्मन् कस्य वा नारी यामेवमनुशोचसि । तमुवाच नलो राजा मन्दप्रज्ञस्य कस्यचित्,'आयुष्मन्! वह किसकी पत्नी है, जिसके लिये तुम इस प्रकार निरन्तर शोकमग्न रहते हो।' तब राजा नलने उससे कहा--'किसी अल्पबुद्धि पुरुषके एक स्त्री थी, जो उसके अत्यन्त आदरकी पात्र थी। किंतु उस पुरुषकी बात अत्यन्त दृढ़ नहीं थी। वह अपनी प्रतिज्ञास फिसल गया। किसी विशेष प्रयोजनसे विवश होकर वह भाग्यहीन पुरुष अपनी पत्नीसे बिछुड़ गया
Bṛhadaśva uvāca: Āyuṣman kasya vā nārī yām evam anuśocasi? Tam uvāca Nalo rājā: Mandaprajñasya kasyacit.
Bṛhadaśva said, “O long-lived one, whose wife is she for whom you grieve so continually?” King Nala replied, “She was the wife of a certain man of little discernment—dear to him and worthy of his deepest respect. Yet his resolve did not remain firm; he slipped from his vow. Driven by a particular necessity, that unfortunate man became separated from his wife.”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights ethical self-accountability: when resolve fails and vows are broken, suffering follows—often harming those most deserving of honor. It frames grief not as fate alone but as a consequence of weakened discernment and wavering commitment.
Bṛhadaśva asks the grieving person (Nala, in disguise/indirect speech) whose wife he mourns. Nala answers obliquely, describing “a certain dull-witted man” who, compelled by circumstances, lost firmness and became separated from his beloved wife—implicitly narrating his own story.