Shloka 34
Keśinī’s Inquiry to Bāhuka and the Emotional Signs of Concealed Identity (केशिन्याः बाहुकपरीक्षा)
इन्द्रसेनस्थ जननी कुपिता माशपत् पुरा । यदा त्वया परित्यक्ता ततो5हं भूशपीडितः,“इन्द्रसेनकी माता दमयन्तीने, पहले जब उसे आपने वनमें त्याग दिया था, कुपित होकर मुझे शाप दे दिया। उससे मैं बड़ा कष्ट पाता रहा हूँ
indrasenastha jananī kupitā māśapat purā | yadā tvayā parityaktā tato 'haṃ bhūśapīḍitaḥ ||
Bṛhadaśva berkata: “Ibu Indrasena, Damayantī, pernah pada suatu ketika dalam kemarahan melafazkan suatu sumpahan. Sejak saat engkau meninggalkannya di rimba, aku telah diseksa oleh sumpahan itu dan menanggung derita yang besar.”
बृहदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores ethical causality: abandoning one’s rightful responsibilities—especially toward a spouse—invites suffering and social-moral repercussions, here expressed through the traditional motif of a śāpa (curse).
In the Nalopākhyāna episode, Bṛhadaśva explains that Damayantī, Indrasena’s mother, once uttered a curse in anger after being abandoned in the forest; the speaker states he has been afflicted by that curse ever since.