Shloka 30
कर्कोटक-उपदेशः
Karkoṭaka’s Counsel and Nala’s Concealment
कस्य त्वं मृगशावाक्षि कथं चाभ्यागता वनम् | कथं चेदं महत् कृच्छूं प्राप्तवत्यसि भाविनि,“मृगलोचने! तुम किसकी स्त्री हो और कैसे वनमें चली आयी हो? भामिनि! किस प्रकार तुम्हें यह महान् कष्ट प्राप्त हुआ है?”
kasya tvaṁ mṛgaśāvākṣi kathaṁ cābhyāgatā vanam | kathaṁ cedaṁ mahat kṛcchraṁ prāptavaty asi bhāmini ||
“Hỡi người thiếu nữ mắt như nai, nàng là vợ của ai, và vì sao lại đến chốn rừng sâu này? Hỡi giai nhân, bằng cách nào nàng đã rơi vào cơn khốn khổ lớn lao như thế?”
ब॒हृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dharmic conduct through compassionate inquiry: before judging or acting, one asks about identity, circumstances, and the cause of suffering, implying a duty to understand and protect someone in distress.
Bṛhadaśva addresses a distressed, doe-eyed woman encountered in the forest and asks whose wife she is, how she came there, and how she has met with such severe hardship—setting up the backstory that follows.