Shloka 6
Kāmyake Arjuna-viyogaḥ — The Pandavas’ despondency in Kāmyaka during Arjuna’s absence
दुःखमेतादृशं प्राप्तो नल: परपुरंजय: । देवनेन नरश्रेष्ठ सभायों भरतर्षभ,भरतश्रेष्ठ! पुरुषोत्तम! शत्रुओंकी राजधानीपर विजय पानेवाले महाराज नल जूआ खेलनेके कारण अपनी पत्नीसहित इस प्रकारके महान् संकटमें पड़ गये थे
bṛhadaśva uvāca | duḥkham etādṛśaṃ prāpto nalaḥ parapuraṃjayaḥ | devena naraśreṣṭha sabhāyāṃ bharatarṣabha bharataśreṣṭha puruṣottama |
Bṛhadaśva said: “O best of men, O bull among the Bharatas—best of the Bharata line, foremost of persons—King Nala, conqueror of enemy cities, fell into just such misery. Because of gambling, in the royal assembly, he was plunged into a great calamity together with his wife.”
बृहदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a powerful and virtuous king can be ruined by addiction to gambling; the verse frames Nala’s fall as an ethical warning that uncontrolled play in the assembly leads to loss of stability, honor, and well-being for oneself and one’s family.
Bṛhadaśva begins recounting Nala’s story to illustrate a comparable suffering: Nala, famed for conquering enemy cities, nevertheless becomes trapped in severe distress because of a dice game conducted in the royal assembly, and his wife is drawn into the resulting calamity.