Shloka 18

दमयन्तीवाक्य-प्रेषणम्

Damayantī’s Message and the Dispatch of Brahmin Envoys

Devanagari script

क्षुत्पिपासापरीताजी दुष्करं यदि जीवति । श्वापदाचरिते नित्यं वने महति दारुणे,“भूख और प्याससे उसके अंग व्याप्त हो रहे थे। उस दशामें परित्यक्त होकर वह यदि जीवित भी हो तो भी उसका जीवित रहना बहुत कठिन है। आर्य जीवल! अत्यन्त भयंकर विशाल वनमें जहाँ नित्य-निरन्तर हिंसक जन्तु विचरते रहते हैं, उस मन्दबुद्धि एवं मन्दभाग्य पुरुषने उसका त्याग कर दिया था।” इस प्रकार निषधनरेश राजा नल दमयन्तीका निरन्तर स्मरण करते हुए राजा ऋतुपर्णके यहाँ अज्ञातवास कर रहे थे

Transliteration

Bṛhadaśva uvāca: kṣutpipāsāparītājī duṣkaraṃ yadi jīvati | śvāpada-ācarite nityaṃ vane mahati dāruṇe |

Translation

Bṛhadaśva nói: “Đói khát trùm lên thân thể nàng; dẫu nàng còn sống, việc sống sót cũng vô cùng khó nhọc—bởi nàng bị bỏ lại trong khu rừng rộng lớn và ghê rợn ấy, nơi thú dữ luôn rình rập.”

Word by Word

क्षुत्hunger

पिपासाthirst

परीताovercome, afflicted, surrounded

अजीwoman (here: she)

दुष्करम्difficult, hard

यदिif

जीवतिlives, survives

श्वापदwild beasts, predators

आचरितेfrequented, inhabited

नित्यम्always

वनेin the forest

महतिgreat, vast

दारुणेterrible, dreadful

Speaker

बृहृदश्च उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bṛhadaśva

forest (vana)

beasts of prey (śvāpada)

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 underscores the ethical gravity of abandoning a vulnerable person: hunger, thirst, and a predator-filled wilderness make survival nearly impossible. It evokes compassion and responsibility (dharma) toward those dependent on one’s protection.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bṛhadaśva describes the perilous condition of a woman left in a vast, terrifying forest, emphasizing that even if she is alive, continuing to live there would be extremely difficult because predators roam constantly.