Shloka 24
कर्कोटक-उपदेशः
Karkoṭaka’s Counsel and Nala’s Concealment
कथं भविष्यसि पुनर्मामनुस्मृत्य नैषध । कथं भवागञ्जगामाद्य मामुत्सृज्य वने प्रभो,“निषधनरेश! यदि मैं मर गयी, तो मुझे बार-बार याद करके आपकी कैसी दशा हो जायगी? प्रभो! आज मुझे वनमें छोड़कर आप क्यों चले गये?
kathaṁ bhaviṣyasi punar mām anusmṛtya naiṣadha | kathaṁ bhavān jagāmādya mām utsṛjya vane prabho ||
“Ôi vua xứ Niṣadha, nếu thiếp chết đi, chàng sẽ chịu đựng thế nào khi cứ mãi nhớ thiếp? Thưa chúa công, cớ sao hôm nay chàng lại bỏ thiếp lại trong rừng mà ra đi?”
ब॒हृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of abandoning a dependent loved one: remembrance intensifies suffering, and a ruler’s or husband’s duty (dharma) is tested when compassion conflicts with fear, shame, or desperation.
In the Nala–Damayantī episode, Damayantī addresses Nala (the Naiṣadha king) after he has left her in the forest; she questions how he can live with the repeated memory of her and why he departed, abandoning her in the wilderness.