Shloka 52
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
त्यक्तश्रियं भर्तहीनामनाथां व्यसनान्विताम् । अन्वेषमाणां भर्तरं त्वं मां पर्वतसत्तम,“वे एक अच्छे यज्ञकर्ता, उत्तम दाता, शूरवीर योद्धा और श्रेष्ठ शासक हैं, आप मुझे उन्हींकी श्रेष्ठ पत्नी समझ लीजिये। मैं अबला नारी आपके निकट यहाँ उन्हींकी कुशल पूछनेके लिये आयी हूँ। गिरिराज! (मेरे स्वामी मुझे छोड़कर कहीं चले गये हैं।) मैं धन- सम्पत्तिसे वंचित, पतिदेवसे रहित, अनाथ और संकटोंकी मारी हुई हूँ। इस वनमें अपने पतिकी ही खोज कर रही हूँ
tyaktaśriyaṁ bhartṛhīnāmanāthāṁ vyasanānvitām | anveṣamāṇāṁ bhartāraṁ tvaṁ māṁ parvatasattama ||
Wika ni Bṛhadaśva: “Ako’y isang babaeng nawalan ng ginhawa at dangal, walang asawa, walang tagapagtanggol, at dinudurog ng mga kapahamakan. Hinahanap ko ang aking asawa; O pinakamainam sa mga bundok, nakikita mo ako rito dahil sa paghahanap na iyon.”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical vulnerability of one who has lost social protection—prosperity, spouse, and support—and implicitly appeals to dharma: the strong (or those addressed with honor) should recognize and respond with compassion to the afflicted.
The speaker (Bṛhadaśva) voices the condition of a distressed woman—husbandless, unprotected, and struck by misfortune—who is wandering in the forest searching for her husband, addressing a ‘best of mountains’ as a respectful witness or interlocutor.