Shloka 18
दमयन्ती–बाहुकसंवादः
Damayantī’s Dialogue with Bāhuka; Recognition and Disclosure
क्व नु त्वं कितवच्छित्त्वा बस्त्रार्थ प्रस्थितो मम । उत्सृज्य विपिने सुप्तामनुरक्तां प्रियां प्रिय,'“ओ जुआरी प्रियतम! तुम अपने प्रति अनुराग रखनेवाली वनमें सोयी हुई मुझ प्यारी पत्नीको छोड़कर तथा मेरे आधे वस्त्रको फाड़कर कहाँ चल दिये?
kva nu tvaṃ kitavac chittvā vastrārthaṃ prasthito mama | utsṛjya vipine suptām anuraktāṃ priyāṃ priya ||
Bāhaka said: “Where have you gone, O gambler-beloved, after tearing away my garment for your own clothing? How could you set off, abandoning in the forest your dear wife—sleeping there and devoted to you?”
बाहक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse censures irresponsible conduct driven by vice (gambling): taking what is not rightly one’s own (tearing another’s cloth) and neglecting one’s primary duty of care toward a devoted spouse. It frames ethical failure as both harm to others and betrayal of relational obligations.
Bāhaka confronts a man addressed as a ‘gambler,’ accusing him of tearing off part of Bāhaka’s garment and departing, while leaving behind his affectionate wife asleep in the forest—highlighting both theft-like behavior and abandonment.