Shloka 74
नलस्य बाहुकत्वेन ऋतुपर्णनगरप्रवेशः
Nala as Bāhuka enters Ṛtuparṇa’s city
अस्याश्षु नद्या: कल्याणि वद सत्यमनिन्दिते । साब्रवीत् तानृषीन् नाहमरण्यस्यास्य देवता,“अनिन्दिते! कल्याणि! अथवा तुम इस नदीकी अधिष्ठात्री देवी हो, सच-सच बताओ।' दमयन्तीने उन ऋषियोंसे कहा--“तपस्याके धनी ब्राह्मणो! न तो मैं इस वनकी देवी हूँ, न पर्ववकी अधिदेवता और न इस नदीकी ही देवी हूँ। आप सब लोग मुझे मानवी समझें
Bṛhadaśva uvāca: asyāśu nadyāḥ kalyāṇi vada satyam anindite | sābravīt tān ṛṣīn nāham araṇyasyāsya devatā |
布利哈达湿婆说道：“吉祥而无瑕的女子啊，速速说出实情：你可是这条河的主宰女神？” 达摩延蒂答诸仙人曰：“诸位苦行深厚的圣者，我并非此林之神，亦非彼山之主宰神祇，更非此河之女神。请将我视作凡人女子。”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights satya (truthfulness) and humility: Damayantī refuses divine attribution and insists on being regarded as human, grounding the encounter in honest self-identification rather than flattery or superstition.
Sages, struck by Damayantī’s appearance and presence near a river in the wilderness, ask whether she is the presiding deity of the river/forest. She answers that she is not a goddess of the forest, mountain, or river, but a human woman.