Shloka 16
दमयन्तीवाक्य-प्रेषणम्
Damayantī’s Message and the Dispatch of Brahmin Envoys
सातुतं पुरुषं नारी कृच्छेडप्पनुगता वने,“वह नारी इतनी पतिव्रता थी कि संकटकालमें भी उस पुरुषके पीछे-पीछे वनमें चली गयी; किंतु उस अल्प पुण्यवाले पुरुषने उसे वनमें ही त्याग दिया। अब तो यदि वह जीवित होगी तो बड़े कष्टसे उसके दिन बीतते होंगे। वह स्त्री अकेली थी। उसे मार्गका ज्ञान नहीं था। जिस संकटमें वह पड़ी थी, उसके योग्य वह कदापि नहीं थी
sā tu taṃ puruṣaṃ nārī kṛcchre 'py anugatā vane | sā nārī pativratā satī saṃkaṭakāle 'pi tasyaiva paścād vane yayau | kintu alpapuṇyena tena puruṣeṇa sā vane tyaktā | idānīṃ yadi jīvatī syāt, mahāduḥkhena tasyāḥ dināḥ yānti sma | sā strī ekākī āsīt | mārgaṃ na jānāti sma | yasmīn saṃkaṭe sā patitā, tasya yogyā sā kadācana na āsīt ||
布里哈达湿婆说道：那女子纵在艰厄之中，仍追随那男子入林。她对夫君贞诚至极，灾难临头也随他走进荒野；然而那福薄之人却在森林里将她弃置。若她尚在人世，日子必定在巨大苦楚中度过。她孤身一人，不识道路，而她所陷入的险境，本非她所能承当。
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage contrasts steadfast devotion (pativratā-dharma) with the man’s moral failure: abandoning a dependent companion in crisis is portrayed as adharma and a sign of diminished merit (alpapuṇya). It invites compassion for the vulnerable and stresses responsibility toward those who rely on one’s protection.
Bṛhadaśva describes a devoted woman who follows a man into the forest even during hardship, but the man abandons her there. The speaker reflects on her likely suffering—alone, without knowing the way, trapped in a danger she was not equipped to face.