Shloka 153
Akṣa-hṛdaya-dāna and Phalāśruti of the Nalopākhyāna (अक्षहृदयदानम् / नलोपाख्यान-फलश्रुतिः)
कृतकृत्यो भविष्यामि सा हि मे नित्यशो हृदि । 'शत्रुओंके साथ जूआ खेलनेसे मुझे कभी तृप्ति ही नहीं होती। आज श्रेष्ठ अंगोंवाली अनिन्द्य सुन्दरी दमयन्तीको जीतकर मैं कृतार्थ हो जाऊँगा; क्योंकि वह सदा मेरे हृदयमन्दिरमें निवास करती है”
kṛtakṛtyo bhaviṣyāmi sā hi me nityaśo hṛdi |
Bṛhadaśva said: “I shall feel my purpose fulfilled, for she abides constantly in my heart. I am never satisfied by gambling with enemies; but today, by winning Damayantī—she of excellent limbs, the blameless beauty—I will be truly content.”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how craving—especially for gambling and conquest—creates a false sense of fulfillment. It implicitly warns that obsession can override ethical restraint, as the speaker equates ‘success’ with winning a person rather than mastering desire.
Bṛhadaśva voices an intense fixation on Damayantī, claiming he will be satisfied only by ‘winning’ her. He contrasts ordinary gambling with enemies (which never satisfies him) with the anticipated triumph of obtaining Damayantī, whom he says dwells constantly in his heart.