Shloka 19
Adhyāya 76: Kuṇḍina-praveśaḥ, Bhīmena satkāraḥ, Ṛtuparṇa-kṣamā, Aśvahṛdaya-pratyarpanam
Nala’s Reception and Reconciliation
स मच्छरीरे त्वच्छापाद् दह्मुमानो&$वसत् कलि: । त्वच्छापदग्ध: सततं सो5ग्नावग्निरिवाहित:,“पहले जब तुम वनमें दुखी होकर दिन-रात मेरे लिये शोक करती थी और उस समय धर्मसंकटमें पड़नेपर तुमने जिसे शाप दे दिया था, वही कलियुग मेरे शरीरमें तुम्हारी शापग्निसे दग्ध होता हुआ निवास करता था, जैसे आगमें रखी हुई आग हो; उसी प्रकार वह कलि तुम्हारे शापसे दग्ध हो सदा मेरे भीतर रहता था
sa maccharīre tvacchāpād dahyamāno ’vasat kaliḥ | tvacchāpadagdhaḥ satataṃ so ’gnāv agnir ivāhitaḥ ||
布利哈达湿婆说道：“那迦梨，被你诅咒之火灼烧，便寄居在我身中。因你的咒诅而时时受焚，他仍牢牢附着于我——如火置于火。往昔你在林中昼夜为我哀恸，在法（dharma）的危急关头诅咒了他；自那时起，正是这同一个迦梨在我体内承受着那灼烧之力。”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of a śāpa (curse) and the inevitability of consequences: harmful forces may persist, but they can also be restrained and made to suffer by the power of righteous speech uttered in a dharma-crisis. It also underscores how inner affliction can be the hidden seat of outward misfortune.
Bṛhadaśva explains that the being named Kali—previously cursed by the listener during a forest episode—has been residing within Bṛhadaśva’s body, continually burning from that curse, ‘like fire within fire.’ This accounts for Kali’s constrained yet persistent presence and influence.