Shloka 23
Adhyāya 76: Kuṇḍina-praveśaḥ, Bhīmena satkāraḥ, Ṛtuparṇa-kṣamā, Aśvahṛdaya-pratyarpanam
Nala’s Reception and Reconciliation
दूताश्चरन्ति पृथिवीं कृत्स्नां नूपतिशासनात् । भेमी किल सम भर्तरं द्वितीयं वरयिष्यति,“विदर्भनरेशकी आज्ञासे सारी पृथ्वीपर दूत विचरते हैं और यह घोषणा कर रहे हैं कि दमयन्ती द्वितीय पतिका वरण करेगी
Bṛhadaśva uvāca | dūtāś caranti pṛthivīṁ kṛtsnāṁ nṛpatiśāsanāt | bhīmī kila samaṁ bhartāraṁ dvitīyaṁ varayiṣyati |
Bṛhadaśva said: “By the king’s command, heralds are roaming over the whole earth, proclaiming that Bhīmī (Damayantī) will choose a second husband—one equal to her former lord.” The verse underscores how royal authority publicizes a marriage-choice, while also hinting at the ethical tension of remarriage and the demand that any new union be worthy and socially sanctioned.
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Public acts like marriage are framed as matters of dharma and social order: royal proclamation legitimizes the process, and the insistence on an “equal” husband highlights the ethical expectation that unions should match in worth, status, and virtue.
Bṛhadaśva reports that, on the king’s command, messengers are traveling everywhere announcing that Damayantī will hold a second husband-choice (svayaṃvara), seeking someone equal to her former husband (implicitly Nala).