Shloka 10
Kāmyake Arjuna-viyogaḥ — The Pandavas’ despondency in Kāmyaka during Arjuna’s absence
कर्कोटकस्य नागस्यथ दमयन्त्या नलस्य च । ऋतुपर्णस्य राजर्षे: कीर्तन॑ं कलिनाशनम्,कर्कोटक नाग, दमयन्ती, नल तथा राजर्षि ऋतुपर्णकी चर्चा कलियुगके दोषका नाश करनेवाली है
bṛhadaśva uvāca | karkoṭakasya nāgasya ca damayantyā nalasya ca | ṛtuparṇasya rājarṣeḥ kīrtanaṃ kalināśanam ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “The recounting of Karkoṭaka the serpent, of Damayantī and Nala, and of the royal sage Ṛtuparṇa is a destroyer of Kali—its remembrance and narration dispel the taint of moral decline and restore steadiness in dharma.”
बृहदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
That remembering and narrating exemplary lives—especially those marked by trial, fidelity, and eventual restoration—purifies the mind and counters the influence of Kali (moral confusion, vice, and despair).
Bṛhadaśva highlights the spiritual and ethical potency of the Nala–Damayantī episode: the very telling of Karkoṭaka, Nala, Damayantī, and Ṛtuparṇa is presented as a remedy that dispels Kali’s harmful influence.