Shloka 29
Damayantī’s Proposal of a Witnessed Choice; Nala Reports to the Lokapālas
Adhyāya 53
सफल ते भवेज्जन्म रूप॑ चेदं सुमध्यमे । वयं हि देवगन्धर्वमनुष्योरगराक्षसान्
saphala te bhavej janma rūpaṁ cedaṁ sumadhyame | vayaṁ hi devagandharva-manuṣyoraga-rākṣasān
“हे सुमध्यमा, तेव्हाच तुझा जन्म आणि हे रूप सफल ठरेल. कारण आम्ही देव, गंधर्व, मनुष्य, नाग आणि राक्षस—हे सर्व पाहिले आहेत…”
बृहृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts outward beauty with inner worth: a life becomes truly “fruitful” when beauty is accompanied by dharmic conduct and virtue; mere appearance is not the final measure of value.
Bṛhadaśva addresses a woman respectfully (“sumadhyame”) and begins a reflective statement: having encountered many orders of beings—divine, celestial, human, serpentine, and demonic—he frames his counsel around what makes a person’s life meaningful beyond external form.