Shloka 8

नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः

Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city

Devanagari script

पल्वलानि तडागानि गिरिकूटानि सर्वश: । सरितो निर्झराश्चैव ददर्शाद्भुतदर्शनान्‌,कितनी ही नदियों, सरोवरों, बावलियों तथा नाना प्रकारके मृगों और पक्षियोंको देखा। उसने बहुत-से भयानक रूपवाले पिशाच, नाग तथा राक्षस देखे। कितने ही गड्ढों, पोखरों और पर्वतशिखरोंका अवलोकन किया। सरिताओं और अद्भुत झरनोंको देखा

Transliteration

palvalāni taḍāgāni girikūṭāni sarvaśaḥ | sarito nirjharāś caiva dadarśādbhuta-darśanān ||

Translation

Bṛhadaśva nói: “Chàng nhìn thấy khắp bốn phương những vũng lầy và hồ nước, những đỉnh núi, lại cả sông ngòi và thác nước kỳ diệu—những điều lạ lùng của chốn hoang lâm hiện ra trước mắt chàng ở mỗi bước chân.”

Word by Word

• {'palvalāni': 'marshes, shallow pools, waterlogged tracts', 'taḍāgāni': 'lakes, ponds, reservoirs', 'girikūṭāni': 'mountain-peaks, rocky summits', 'sarvaśaḥ': 'on all sides, everywhere', 'saritaḥ (sarito)': 'rivers, flowing streams', 'nirjharāḥ': 'waterfalls, cascades, springs issuing from rocks', 'ca eva': 'and indeed, and also', 'dadarśa': 'he saw, he beheld', 'adbhuta-darśanān': 'of wondrous appearance

Speaker

बृहृदश्च उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bṛhadaśva
• palvala (marsh/pool)
• taḍāga (lake/pond)
• girikūṭa (mountain peak)
• sarita (river)
• nirjhara (waterfall)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights attentive perception and endurance during travel in the wilderness: one moves forward by observing the terrain carefully, meeting the unknown with steadiness rather than fear.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bṛhadaśva describes what the traveler sees in the forest—marshes, lakes, mountain peaks, rivers, and striking waterfalls—painting the landscape encountered along the journey.