Shloka 33
दमयन्त्याः अरण्यविहारः — Damayantī’s Passage through the Wilderness
अवैमि चाहं नृपते न तु मां त्यक्तुमहसि । चेतसा त्वपकृष्टेन मां त्यजेथा महीपते,राजन! मैं जानती हूँ कि आप स्वयं मुझे नहीं त्याग सकते, परंतु महीपते! इस घोर आपत्तिने आपके चित्तको आकर्षित कर लिया है, इस कारण आप मेरा त्याग भी कर सकते हैं
avaimi cāhaṁ nṛpate na tu māṁ tyaktum arhasi | cetasā tv apakṛṣṭena māṁ tyajethā mahīpate ||
Nàng nói tiếp: “Thiếp biết rõ, tâu bệ hạ, người vốn không phải kẻ nên bỏ thiếp. Nhưng, hỡi chúa tể cõi đất, khi tâm trí người bị tai ương khủng khiếp này lôi kéo và chế ngự, người có thể đến nỗi cũng đành ruồng bỏ thiếp.”
नल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how dharma can be eclipsed when the mind is seized by calamity or inner disturbance: even a righteous king who 'should not' abandon his duty may do so if self-control and clarity are lost. Ethical conduct depends not only on knowing what is right, but on guarding the mind against being dragged away by crisis.
In the Nala–Damayantī episode of the Vana Parva, the speaker addresses the king intimately, affirming confidence in his character while also fearing that the pressure of misfortune has unsettled his mind. The line foreshadows the possibility of abandonment driven not by true intent, but by a mind overpowered by adversity.