Mahabharata 3.52.53 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 52, Shloka 53

Nala’s Embassy to Damayantī and the Gods’ Proposal (नलस्य दूतत्वं देवप्रस्तावश्च)

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच अथैनमब्रवीद्‌ राजा ब्रवीतु भगवानिति | इमामवस्थां सम्प्राप्तं श्रोतुमिच्छामि पार्थिवम्‌

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca athainam abravīd rājā bravītu bhagavān iti | imām avasthāṃ samprāptaṃ śrotum icchāmi pārthivam ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു— അപ്പോൾ രാജാവ് അദ്ദേഹത്തോട് പറഞ്ഞു: “ഭഗവൻ, ദയവായി പറയുക. ഇത്തരമൊരു ദുരവസ്ഥയിൽ പതിച്ച ആ രാജാവിന്റെ കഥ ഞാൻ കേൾക്കാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നു.”

Word by Word

• {'athā': 'then, thereafter', 'enam': 'him (this person)', 'abravīt': 'said, spoke', 'rājā': 'the king', 'bravītu': 'let (him) speak (imperative/optative sense)', 'bhagavān': 'the venerable one

• revered sage', 'iti': 'thus', 'imām': 'this', 'avasthām': 'condition, state, predicament', 'samprāptam': 'having reached

• come to be in', 'śrotum': 'to hear', 'icchāmi': 'I desire, I wish', 'pārthivam': 'a king, ruler (lit. ‘earthly lord’)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Janamejaya
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• bhagavān (revered sage, unnamed here)
• pārthiva (a king/ruler, unspecified)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

When overwhelmed by misfortune, a ruler should seek dharmic guidance through exemplary narratives—learning how earlier kings faced comparable crises and what conduct preserves righteousness and stability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira requests the sage to speak, specifically asking to hear the story of a king who has reached a predicament like his own—setting up an instructive tale meant to guide conduct in hardship.