Shloka 9
दमयन्ती-शपथः वायोः साक्ष्यं च
Damayantī’s Oath and Vāyu’s Testimony
हस्वमासाद्य संचारं नासौ विनमते क्वचित् | तं तु दृष्टया यथा5संगमुत्सपति यथासुखम्,किसी छोटे-से-छोटे दरवाजेपर जाकर भी वह झुकता नहीं है। उसे देखकर बड़ी आसानीके साथ दरवाजा ही इस प्रकार ऊँचा हो जाता है कि जिससे मस्तकका उससे स्पर्श नहो
hrasvam āsādya sañcāraṁ nāsau vinamate kvacit | taṁ tu dṛṣṭvā yathā-saṅgam utsarpati yathā-sukham |
Bṛhadaśva said: Even when he comes to a passage with a very low doorway, he never bends anywhere. Yet, as soon as it sees him, the doorway itself rises—just as needed—so that his head does not touch it. The episode underscores how pride refuses to bow, while the world is strangely compelled to accommodate it, hinting at the moral peril of arrogance and the unnatural distortions it can produce.
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical contrast between humility and pride: refusing to bow is portrayed as a stubborn arrogance, and the miraculous ‘rising doorway’ suggests how the world can become distorted to accommodate ego—an implicit warning that dharma favors modesty and self-restraint.
Bṛhadaśva describes a figure who never stoops even at a low entrance; instead, the doorway itself lifts up on seeing him, preventing any contact with his head—an illustrative marvel used to characterize the person’s unbending nature.