Shloka 53

दमयन्तीस्वयंवरः — देववेषधारणं, सत्यप्रार्थना, नलवरणम्

Damayantī’s Svayaṃvara: Divine Disguises, Truth-Vow, and Choosing Nala

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत नलोपाख्यानपर्वमें हंसदमयन्तीयंवादविषयक तिरपनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti prakāraṃ śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi antargate nalopākhyānaparvaṇi haṃsadamyantīyāṃvādaviṣayakaḥ tripañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ

Translation

Так завершается пятьдесят третья глава сказания о Нале (Налопакхьяна) в составе Вана-парвы «Шри Махабхараты», посвящённая диалогу о лебеде и Дамаянти. Рассказчик торжественно закрывает главу, отмечая переход в нравственно-повествовательной дуге истории Налы, где на первый план выходят речь, различение и испытание характера.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• प्रकारम्: manner/way
• प्रकारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रकार
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• श्रीमहाभारत: of the revered Mahabharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमहाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• वनपर्व: in the Vana Parva (Forest Book)
• वनपर्व: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वनपर्व
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अन्तर्गत: included/contained (within)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्तर्गत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• नलोपाख्यानपर्व: in the Nala-upakhyana section
• नलोपाख्यानपर्व: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नलोपाख्यानपर्व
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• हंसदमयन्तीयंवादविषयक: concerning the dialogue of the swan (with) Damayanti
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हंसदमयन्तीयंवादविषयक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्रिपञ्चाशत्तमः: fifty-third
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रिपञ्चाशत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• समाप्तः: is completed/ended
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आप् (समाप्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

बृहृदश्चव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Vana Parva
• Nala-upākhyāna
• Haṃsa (swan)
• Damayantī
• Bṛhadaśva

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This is a colophon marking the completion of a chapter; its implicit teaching is the importance of attentive listening to narrated exempla (upākhyāna) and the ethical weight of dialogue—how speech and counsel can guide discernment and character in moments of choice.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bṛhadaśva formally concludes the chapter within the Nala episode, specifying that the section concerned with the swan–Damayantī dialogue has ended, signaling a transition to the next part of the story.