Shloka 17

दमयन्तीवाक्य-प्रेषणम्

Damayantī’s Message and the Dispatch of Brahmin Envoys

Devanagari script

त्यक्ता तेनाल्‍पपुण्येन दुष्करं यदि जीवति । एका बालानभिशज्ञा च मार्गाणामतथोचिता,“वह नारी इतनी पतिव्रता थी कि संकटकालमें भी उस पुरुषके पीछे-पीछे वनमें चली गयी; किंतु उस अल्प पुण्यवाले पुरुषने उसे वनमें ही त्याग दिया। अब तो यदि वह जीवित होगी तो बड़े कष्टसे उसके दिन बीतते होंगे। वह स्त्री अकेली थी। उसे मार्गका ज्ञान नहीं था। जिस संकटमें वह पड़ी थी, उसके योग्य वह कदापि नहीं थी

Transliteration

tyaktā tenālpapuṇyena duṣkaraṃ yadi jīvati | ekā bālānabhijñā ca mārgāṇām atathocitā ||

Translation

ブリハダシュヴァは言った。「功徳の乏しいその男に捨てられ、もし彼女がなお生きているなら、その命は大いなる艱難のうちに過ぎているはずだ。彼女は若い女で、ただ独り置き去りにされ—道筋も知らず、落ち込んだ危難にまったく耐え得ぬ者であった。」

Word by Word

त्यक्ताabandoned

तेनby him

अल्पपुण्येनby the little-merit(ed) one

दुष्करम्with difficulty; a hard thing

यदिif

जीवतिlives

एकाalone; one

बालान्children; young ones

अभिशज्ञाknowing; acquainted (with)

चand

मार्गाणाम्of paths; of routes

अतथोचिताnot fit/suited (for that)

Speaker

बृहृदश्च उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bṛhadaśva

an unnamed woman (abandoned wife)

an unnamed man (of scant merit)

forest/wilderness (implicit from context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts steadfast devotion and vulnerability with the moral failure of abandoning a dependent spouse. It frames abandonment as a sign of diminished virtue (alpa-puṇya) and invites compassion for those left helpless and unprepared for danger.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bṛhadaśva comments on a woman who followed her husband into hardship, yet was deserted by him. He reflects that if she is still alive, she must be enduring severe suffering—alone, unfamiliar with routes, and unfit for the crisis she faces.