Shloka 16
Adhyāya 76: Kuṇḍina-praveśaḥ, Bhīmena satkāraḥ, Ṛtuparṇa-kṣamā, Aśvahṛdaya-pratyarpanam
Nala’s Reception and Reconciliation
अतीव कृष्णसाराशभ्यां रक्तान्ताभ्यां जल॑ तु तत् परिस््रवन् नलो दृष्टवा शोकार्तामिदमब्रवीत्,उनकी आँखोंकी पुतलियाँ काली थीं और नेत्रके किनारे कुछ-कुछ लाल थे। उनसे निरन्तर अश्रुधारा बहाते हुए नलने दमयन्तीको शोकसे आतुर देख इस प्रकार कहा --
bṛhadaśva uvāca | atīva kṛṣṇasārākṣyāṃ raktāntābhyāṃ jalaṃ tu tat parisravan nalaḥ dṛṣṭvā śokārtām idam abravīt |
Bṛhadaśva said: Seeing Damayantī—her eyes dark as those of a black antelope, their corners tinged with red, and tears continually streaming—Nala, overwhelmed by her grief, spoke these words. The scene underscores compassionate attention to another’s suffering and the moral weight of responding rightly when one’s loved one is in distress.
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights compassionate perception: noticing another’s suffering in detail and being moved to respond. Ethically, it points to the duty of care within relationships—especially a spouse’s responsibility to address grief with sensitivity rather than indifference.
In the Nala–Damayantī episode, Damayantī is shown weeping continuously, her eyes reddened at the corners. Nala sees her grief and, distressed by it, begins to speak—setting up the next lines where his response to her sorrow becomes narratively and morally significant.