Shloka 5

नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः

Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city

Devanagari script

बदरीबिल्वसंछन्न॑ न्यग्रोधैश्व समाकुलम्‌ | प्रियालतालखर्जूरहरीतकबिभीतकै:

Transliteration

badarī-bilva-saṁchannaṁ nyagrodhaiś ca samākulam | priyāla-tāla-kharjūra-harītaka-bibhītakaiḥ ||

Translation

பிருகதஸ்வர் கூறினார்—அது இலந்தை (பதரி) மற்றும் வில்வ மரங்களால் மூடப்பட்டிருந்தது; ஆலமரங்களாலும் அடர்த்தியாயிருந்தது; மேலும் பிரியால, பனை, பேரீச்சை, ஹரீதகி, விபீதக மரங்களால் நிறைந்திருந்தது.

Word by Word

बदरीबिल्वसंछन्नम्covered with jujube and bilva (trees)

न्यग्रोधैःwith banyan trees

चand

समाकुलम्crowded; filled; dense

प्रियालतालखर्जूरहरीतकबिभीतकैःwith priyāla, palmyra, date-palms, harītakī and bibhītaka (trees)

Speaker

बृहृदश्च उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bṛhadaśva

badarī (jujube)

bilva

nyagrodha (banyan)

priyāla

tāla (palmyra)

kharjūra (date-palm)

harītaka

bibhītaka

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the forest as a living, resource-rich space—sustaining travelers through fruits and medicinal plants—suggesting that endurance in exile is supported by attentiveness to nature and its dharmic gifts.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bṛhadaśva is describing a particular forested region, emphasizing its dense growth and the variety of trees present, as part of a travel or location-setting passage in the Vana Parva.