Shloka 12
Adhyāya 73: Damayantī’s Investigation of Bāhuka
Keśinī’s Observations
यदि मां सिंहविक्रान्तो मत्तवारणविक्रम: । नाभिगच्छति राजेन्द्रो विनड्क्ष्यामि न संशय:,यदि सिंहके समान पराक्रमी और मतवाले हाथीके समान मस्तानी चालसे चलनेवाले राजराजेश्वर नल मेरे पास नहीं आयेंगे तो आज अपने जीवनको नष्ट कर दूँगी, इसमें संशय नहीं है
yadi māṃ siṃha-vikrānto matta-vāraṇa-vikramaḥ | nābhigacchati rājendro vinaṅkṣyāmi na saṃśayaḥ ||
“若那罗王——步如雄狮，力若醉象——今日不来我前，我便在今日结束此生；毫无疑问。”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intense attachment and despair can drive a person toward self-destructive vows; it implicitly warns that emotional extremes can eclipse steadiness and right judgment.
A speaker (reported by Bṛhadaśva) conveys a woman’s ultimatum: if King Nala, famed for heroic vigor, does not come to her, she will end her life that very day—heightening urgency and dramatic tension in the Nala story.