Shloka 113
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
प्रोद्घुष्टां क्रो्चकुररैश्वक्रवाकोपकूजिताम् । कूर्मग्राहझषाकीर्णा विपुलद्वीपशोभिताम्,उसके तटपर क्रौंच, कुरर और चक्रवाक आदि पक्षी कूज रहे थे। कछुए, मगर और मछलियोंसे भरी हुई वह नदी विस्तृत टापूसे सुशोभित हो रही थी
prodghuṣṭāṃ krauñcakuraraiś cakravākopakūjitām | kūrmagrāhajhaṣākīrṇāṃ vipuladvīpaśobhitām ||
Bṛhadaśva nói: “Dòng sông ấy vang dội tiếng kêu của chim krauñca và kurara, lại đầy ắp tiếng gọi đôi của chim cakravāka. Dày đặc rùa, cá sấu và cá, nó càng thêm mỹ lệ nhờ những cù lao rộng lớn.”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than didactic: it presents a harmonious, thriving river ecosystem. In the broader Vana Parva context, such imagery underscores that even amid exile and hardship, the world retains order and beauty—inviting steadiness, attentiveness, and restraint in one’s conduct.
Bṛhadaśva paints the scene of a river along the forest route: birds call from the banks, and the waters are full of turtles, crocodiles, and fish, with wide islets adorning the flow. The description sets the atmosphere for the events and encounters that follow in the forest narrative.