Shloka 11

ऋतुपर्णस्य विदर्भयात्रा-निश्चयः तथा बाहुकस्य हयपरिक्षा (Ṛtuparṇa’s resolve to go to Vidarbha and Bāhuka’s examination of horses)

Devanagari script

स मलेनापकृष्टेन पिप्लुस्तस्या व्यरोचत । दमयन्त्या यथा व्यभ्रे नभसीव निशाकर:,मैल धुल जानेपर उसके ललाटका वह चिह्न उसी प्रकार चमक उठा, जैसे बादलरहित आकाशकमें चन्द्रमा प्रकाशित होता है

Transliteration

sa malena apakṛṣṭena piplus tasyā vyarocata | damayantyā yathā vyabhre nabhasīva niśākaraḥ ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: When the grime was wiped away, the mark on her forehead shone forth clearly—just as the moon gleams in a cloudless sky. The image underscores how innate dignity and virtue, though obscured by hardship, reveal themselves again when the covering of suffering is removed.

Word by Word

• {'saḥ': 'that (mark/sign)', 'malena': 'by dirt, grime', 'apakṛṣṭena': 'removed, wiped away, drawn off', 'piplus': 'a spot/mark

• a small blemish or sign (here: a distinguishing mark on the forehead)', 'tasyāḥ': 'of her', 'vyarocata': 'shone forth, became radiant', 'damayantyāḥ': 'of Damayantī', 'yathā': 'just as', 'vyabhre': 'free of clouds, cloudless', 'nabhasīva': 'in the sky as if', 'niśākaraḥ': 'the moon (lit. maker of night)'}

Speaker

युदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Damayantī
• Moon (niśākara)
• Sky (nabhas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True worth is intrinsic: hardship and neglect may conceal a person’s radiance, but when the obscuring ‘dirt’ is removed, virtue and identity become evident again—like the moon revealed in a clear sky.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker describes how, after the grime is cleared away, a distinctive mark on Damayantī’s forehead becomes visible and radiant, enabling recognition and emphasizing her enduring nobility despite suffering.