Shloka 13
दमयन्त्याः कार्यनिश्चयः — Damayantī’s Crisis Plan and Vārṣṇeya’s Departure
कथं हि देवाज्जानीयां कथं विद्यां नल॑ नृपम् । एवं संचिन्तयन्ती सा वैदर्भी भृशदु:खिता,अहो! मैं कैसे देवताओंको जानूँ और किस प्रकार राजा नलको पहिचानूँ।” इस चिन्तामें पड़कर विदर्भराजकुमारी दमयन्तीको बड़ा दुःख हुआ
kathaṃ hi devāj jānīyāṃ kathaṃ vidyāṃ nalaṃ nṛpam | evaṃ saṃcintayantī sā vaidarbhī bhṛśa-duḥkhitā ||
Бṛhadaśva сказал: «Как мне распознать богов и как мне узнать царя Налу?» Так, вновь и вновь размышляя, царевна Видарбхи Дамаянти была подавлена тяжким горем, разрываясь между благоговением перед божественным и верностью тому, кого избрала.
बृहदश्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights viveka (discernment) as an ethical necessity: reverence for the divine must be balanced with clarity of judgment and fidelity to one’s chosen commitment. Damayantī’s distress shows the moral weight of choosing rightly when appearances can deceive.
At Damayantī’s svayaṃvara, the gods present themselves in forms resembling Nala. She anxiously wonders how to distinguish the deities from the human king Nala, and this uncertainty plunges her into deep sorrow.