Shloka 9
Adhyāya 73: Damayantī’s Investigation of Bāhuka
Keśinī’s Observations
अद्य चन्द्राभवक्त्र तं न पश्यामि नलं यदि । असंख्येयगुणं वीरं॑ विनड्क्षयामि न संशय:,आज यदि असंख्य गुणोंसे विभूषित तथा चन्द्रमाके समान मुखवाले वीरवर नलको न देखूँगी तो अपने इस जीवनका अन्त कर दूँगी, इसमें संशय नहीं है
adya candrābhavaktra taṃ na paśyāmi nalaṃ yadi | asaṅkhyeyaguṇaṃ vīraṃ vinaṅkṣyāmi na saṃśayaḥ ||
“Nếu hôm nay ta không được thấy Nala—bậc anh hùng có vô số đức hạnh, gương mặt như trăng—thì ta sẽ tự kết liễu đời mình. Không còn nghi ngờ gì nữa.”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the intensity of steadfast attachment and resolve in separation: the beloved is praised for virtue, and the speaker’s vow shows how powerful longing can become when ungoverned by patience and self-preservation.
In the Nala–Damayantī episode narrated by Bṛhadaśva, Damayantī (implicitly) declares that if she does not see Nala that very day, she will end her life—underscoring the crisis point of their separation.