Shloka 89
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
यदि कैश्िवहोरात्रैर्न द्रक्ष्यामि नल॑ नूपम् । आत्मानं श्रेयसा योक्ष्ये देहस्यास्य विमोचनात्,“यदि कुछ ही दिन-रातमें मैं राजा नलको नहीं देखूँगी तो इस शरीरका परित्याग करके आत्माका कल्याण करूँगी
yadi kaiścid ahorātrair na drakṣyāmi nalaṁ nṛpam | ātmānaṁ śreyasā yokṣye dehasyāsya vimocanāt ||
Bṛhadaśva nói: “Nếu trong vài ngày đêm nữa ta không được thấy vua Nala, thì ta sẽ rũ bỏ thân này để cầu lấy điều thiện tối thượng cho chính mình.”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the extremity of resolve born from separation: the speaker frames bodily life as secondary to a higher good (śreyas), suggesting that when one’s purpose collapses, one may seek ‘release’—though the Mahābhārata elsewhere upholds endurance and right action as the dharmic ideal.
In the Nala-upākhyāna context, the speaker reports a vow-like statement: if Nala is not seen within a short time, the person speaking intends to abandon the body, expressing intense distress and urgency in the search for the lost king.