Mahabharata 3.71.7 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 71, Shloka 7
Rathaghoṣa–Saṃjñāna: Damayantī’s Inference and the Dispatch of the Envoy (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 71)
मम शोकेन संविग्ना नैराश्यात् तनुमध्यमा । नैवं सा कर्हिचित् कुर्यात् सापत्या च विशेषत:
mama śokena saṃvignā nairāśyāt tanumadhyamā | naivaṃ sā karhicit kuryāt sāpatyā ca viśeṣataḥ ||
బృహదశ్వుడు అన్నాడు— నా శోకంతో ఆమె (సన్నని నడుము గలది) కలతచెంది, నిరాశలో అటువంటి ఆలోచనకు వచ్చి ఉండవచ్చు. కానీ ఆమె ఎప్పుడూ అలా చేయదని నా హృదయం చెబుతోంది—ముఖ్యంగా ఆమె సంతానవతి కాబట్టి.
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical judgment grounded in character and responsibility: even if despair can push someone toward harmful decisions, a person bound by maternal duty and established virtue is not easily presumed to act wrongly. It cautions against hasty suspicion and emphasizes the stabilizing force of familial responsibility.
Bṛhadaśva reflects on a woman’s possible reaction to his sorrow and prolonged separation. He concedes she may have been overwhelmed and hopeless, yet he rejects the idea that she would commit the implied wrongful act, reasoning that her nature—and especially her status as a mother—makes such conduct unlikely.
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