Shloka 28

नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः

Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city

Devanagari script

प्रस्थितं वा नरश्रेष्ठ मम शोकविवर्धन । क॑ नु पृच्छामि दुः:खार्ता त्वदर्थे शोककर्शिता,मेरे शोकको बढ़ानेवाले नरश्रेष्ठ। आप यहीं हैं या कहीं अन्यत्र चल दिये, यह मैं किससे पूछँ? आपके लिये शोकसे दुर्बल होकर मैं अत्यन्त दुःखसे आतुर हो रही हूँ

Transliteration

prasthitaṃ vā naraśreṣṭha mama śokavivardhana | kaṃ nu pṛcchāmi duḥkhārtā tvadarthe śokakarśitā ||

Translation

Bṛhadaśva nói: “Hỡi bậc trượng phu tối thượng, kẻ chỉ làm nỗi sầu của ta thêm lớn—ngươi đã ra đi hay còn ở đây? Trong cơn khổ não này, ta còn biết hỏi ai? Bị nỗi bi thương vì ngươi bào mòn, ta chìm ngập trong đau đớn.”

Word by Word

प्रस्थितम्departed, gone forth

वाor

नरश्रेष्ठO best of men

ममof me, my

शोकविवर्धनO increaser of (my) sorrow

कःwho?

नुindeed/now (interrogative particle)

पृच्छामिI ask

दुःखार्ताafflicted by sorrow

त्वदर्थेfor your sake / on account of you

शोककर्शिताwasted/weakend by grief

Speaker

बृहृदश्च उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bṛhadaśva

naraśreṣṭha (addressed person, unnamed in this verse)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical and emotional weight of separation: attachment and responsibility can intensify grief, and in distress the mind searches for guidance yet finds no clear refuge. It underscores compassion for human frailty and the need for steadiness (dhairya) amid loss.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker (introduced as Bṛhadaśva) voices a lament to a ‘best of men,’ anxiously wondering whether he has left or is still present. Overcome by sorrow ‘because of you,’ the speaker feels helpless, not knowing whom to ask for certainty or comfort.