Shloka 20
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
कर्षयत्येष मां रौद्रो व्यात्तास्यों दारुणाकृति: । अरुण्यराट् क्षुधाविष्ट: कि मां न त्रातुमहसि,यह भयानक आकृतिवाला क्रूर सिंह भूखसे पीड़ित हो मुँह बाये खड़ा है और मुझपर आक्रमण करना चाहता है, क्या आप मेरी रक्षा नहीं कर सकते?
bṛhadaśva uvāca | karṣayaty eṣa māṃ raudro vyāttāsyo dāruṇākṛtiḥ | āraṇyarāṭ kṣudhāviṣṭaḥ kiṃ māṃ na trātum arhasi ||
Sinabi ni Bṛhadaśva: “Hinihila ako ng mabangis na ito—nakanganga ang panga, nakapangingilabot ang anyo. Ang hari ng gubat, tinutulak ng gutom, ay nakahandang sumalakay. Hindi mo ba ako ipagtatanggol?”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical demand to protect the vulnerable: when danger is immediate, dharma expresses itself as timely aid and responsibility toward one who seeks refuge.
A speaker describes an imminent attack by a hungry lion—depicted as the ‘king of the forest’—and urgently appeals to another for rescue, heightening the scene’s peril and the duty to intervene.