Shloka 19
दमयन्तीवाक्य-प्रेषणम्
Damayantī’s Message and the Dispatch of Brahmin Envoys
त्यक्ता तेनाल्पभाग्येन मन्दप्रज्ञेन मारिष । इत्येवं नैषधो राजा दमयन्तीमनुस्मरन् ।। अज्ञातवासं न्यवसदू राज्ञस्तस्य निवेशने,“भूख और प्याससे उसके अंग व्याप्त हो रहे थे। उस दशामें परित्यक्त होकर वह यदि जीवित भी हो तो भी उसका जीवित रहना बहुत कठिन है। आर्य जीवल! अत्यन्त भयंकर विशाल वनमें जहाँ नित्य-निरन्तर हिंसक जन्तु विचरते रहते हैं, उस मन्दबुद्धि एवं मन्दभाग्य पुरुषने उसका त्याग कर दिया था।” इस प्रकार निषधनरेश राजा नल दमयन्तीका निरन्तर स्मरण करते हुए राजा ऋतुपर्णके यहाँ अज्ञातवास कर रहे थे
bṛhadaśva uvāca | tyaktā tenālpabhāgyena mandaprajñena māriṣa | ityevaṃ naiṣadho rājā damayantīmanusmaran || ajñātavāsaṃ nyavasad rājñas tasya niveśane ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “O noble one, she was abandoned by that man of scant fortune and dull understanding.” Thus, the king of Niṣadha, Nala, continually remembering Damayantī, lived in concealment, staying unrecognized in the residence of that king (Ṛtupārṇa).
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical cost of impaired judgment and misfortune: abandoning a dependent spouse is portrayed as a grave lapse, while Nala’s constant remembrance suggests remorse and the enduring moral bond of marriage even amid downfall.
Bṛhadaśva narrates that Nala, having abandoned Damayantī in the forest, later lives incognito (ajñātavāsa) in another king’s household—understood in context as King Ṛtupārṇa—while continually thinking of Damayantī.