Shloka 70

नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः

Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city

Devanagari script

तानुवाच वरारोहा कच्चिद्‌ भगवतामिह । तपःस्वग्निषु धर्मेषु मृगपक्षिषु चानघा:,उस समय सुन्दर अंगोंवाली दमयन्तीने उनसे कहा--“भगवन्‌! निष्पाप महाभागगण! यहाँ तप, अन्निहोत्र, धर्म, मृग और पक्षियोंके पालन तथा अपने धर्मके आचरण आदि विषयोंमें आपलोग सकुशल हैं न?' तब उन महात्माओंने कहा--“भद्रे! यशस्विनि! सर्वत्र कुशल है

Transliteration

tān uvāca varārohā kaccid bhagavatām iha | tapaḥsv agniṣu dharmeṣu mṛgapakṣiṣu cānaghā ||

Translation

そのとき、肢体うるわしきダマヤンティーは彼らに言った。「尊き御方々よ、罪垢なき幸いなる聖仙たちよ——ここにて皆さまはつつがなくお過ごしでしょうか。苦行も、アグニホートラの聖火も、ダルマの行も滞りなく、また（あなたがたの庇護のもとにある）鹿や鳥たちも健やかに栄えておりますか。」

Word by Word

{'tān''them (accusative plural pronoun)', 'uvāca': 'said, spoke', 'varārohā': 'a woman of excellent form/beautiful limbs (epithet

here Damayantī)', 'kaccit''whether?, I hope (interrogative particle used in polite inquiry)', 'bhagavatām': 'of the venerable/revered ones (often sages)', 'iha': 'here', 'tapaḥsu': 'in austerities, ascetic practices', 'agniṣu': 'in the sacred fires

in fire-rites (e.g., agnihotra)', 'dharmeṣu''in dharmic duties/observances

in righteousness', 'mṛga''deer

wild animals (contextually creatures of the forest)', 'pakṣiṣu''birds', 'ca': 'and', 'anaghā': 'blameless, sinless (vocative feminine

Speaker

बृहृदश्च उवाच

Characters & Entities

Damayantī

sages/ṛṣis (bhagavantaḥ)

tapas (austerity)

agni (sacred fire, agnihotra)

dharma

mṛga (deer/forest animals)

pakṣi (birds)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models dharmic speech: a respectful inquiry into the well-being of ascetics and their practices, linking personal welfare with the health of ritual order (tapas, sacred fires, dharma) and with care for other beings (deer and birds).

What is happening in the narrative?

Damayantī addresses a group of revered sages in the forest, politely asking whether they are safe and whether their austerities, fire-rites, and dharmic observances are proceeding well, including the welfare of the animals and birds around their hermitage.