Shloka 12
Adhyāya 73: Damayantī’s Investigation of Bāhuka
Keśinī’s Observations
यदि मां सिंहविक्रान्तो मत्तवारणविक्रम: । नाभिगच्छति राजेन्द्रो विनड्क्ष्यामि न संशय:,यदि सिंहके समान पराक्रमी और मतवाले हाथीके समान मस्तानी चालसे चलनेवाले राजराजेश्वर नल मेरे पास नहीं आयेंगे तो आज अपने जीवनको नष्ट कर दूँगी, इसमें संशय नहीं है
yadi māṃ siṃha-vikrānto matta-vāraṇa-vikramaḥ | nābhigacchati rājendro vinaṅkṣyāmi na saṃśayaḥ ||
“Kung si Haring Nala—na ang lakad ay tulad ng leon at ang lakas ay gaya ng lasing na elepante—ay hindi lalapit sa akin ngayon, wawakasan ko ang aking buhay ngayong araw; walang pag-aalinlangan.”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intense attachment and despair can drive a person toward self-destructive vows; it implicitly warns that emotional extremes can eclipse steadiness and right judgment.
A speaker (reported by Bṛhadaśva) conveys a woman’s ultimatum: if King Nala, famed for heroic vigor, does not come to her, she will end her life that very day—heightening urgency and dramatic tension in the Nala story.