Shloka 42
Adhyāya 76: Kuṇḍina-praveśaḥ, Bhīmena satkāraḥ, Ṛtuparṇa-kṣamā, Aśvahṛdaya-pratyarpanam
Nala’s Reception and Reconciliation
ततस्तदू वस्त्रमजरं प्रावणोद् वसुधाधिप: । संस्मृत्य नागराजं तं ततो लेभे स्वकं वपु:,तदनन्तर उन भूपालने नागराज कर्कोटकका स्मरण करके उसके दिये हुए अजीर्ण वस्त्रको ओढ़ लिया। उससे उन्हें अपने पूर्वस्वरूपकी प्राप्ति हो गयी
tatas tad eva vastram ajaraṁ prāvṛṇod vasudhādhipaḥ | saṁsmṛtya nāgarājaṁ taṁ tato lebhe svakaṁ vapuḥ ||
അനന്തരം വസുധാധിപനായ നളൻ ആ അജരവസ്ത്രം ധരിച്ചു. നാഗരാജൻ കർക്കോടകനെ സ്മരിച്ച ഉടനെ അവൻ തന്റെ യഥാർത്ഥ രൂപം വീണ്ടെടുത്തു.
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights gratitude and right remembrance: honoring a benefactor (here, the serpent-king) and properly using what is given can restore one’s rightful state. Ethically, it affirms that assistance received should be remembered and reciprocated through respect and faithful action.
The king wraps himself in the imperishable garment given earlier and, upon remembering the serpent-king, immediately regains his own original body/form—signaling the end of a period of altered appearance and the return to his true identity.