Shloka 29
Damayantī’s Proposal of a Witnessed Choice; Nala Reports to the Lokapālas
Adhyāya 53
सफल ते भवेज्जन्म रूप॑ चेदं सुमध्यमे । वयं हि देवगन्धर्वमनुष्योरगराक्षसान्
saphala te bhavej janma rūpaṁ cedaṁ sumadhyame | vayaṁ hi devagandharva-manuṣyoraga-rākṣasān
Wika ni Bṛhadaśva: “O dalagang may baywang na marikit, kung ang kagandahang ito’y kaagapay ng kabutihang-asal at matuwid na pag-uugali, tunay na magiging mabunga ang iyong pagsilang. Sapagkat nakita na namin ang sari-saring nilalang—mga diyos, Gandharva, mga tao, mga ahas, at mga Rākṣasa—ngunit ang pagkatao at dangal ang nagbibigay ng pangmatagalang halaga, higit sa anyo lamang.”
बृहृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts outward beauty with inner worth: a life becomes truly “fruitful” when beauty is accompanied by dharmic conduct and virtue; mere appearance is not the final measure of value.
Bṛhadaśva addresses a woman respectfully (“sumadhyame”) and begins a reflective statement: having encountered many orders of beings—divine, celestial, human, serpentine, and demonic—he frames his counsel around what makes a person’s life meaningful beyond external form.