नल उवाच
यथा राज्यं पितुस् ते तत् तथा मम न संशयः ॥
न तु तत्र गमिष्यामि विषमस्थः कथं चन ॥
कथं समृद्धो गत्वाहं तव हर्षविवर्धनः ॥
परिद्यूनो गमिष्यामि तव शोकविवर्धनः ॥
बृहदश्व उवाच
इति ब्रुवन् नलो राजा दमयन्तीं पुनः पुनः ॥
सान्त्वयाम् आस कल्याणीं वाससो ऽर्धेन संवृताम् ॥
ताव् एकवस्त्रसंवीताव् अटमानाव् इतस् ततः ॥
क्षुत्पिपासापरिश्रान्तौ सभां कां चिद् उपेयतुः ॥
तां सभाम् उपसंप्राप्य तदा स निषधाधिपः ॥
वैदर्भ्या सहितो राजा निषसाद महीतले ॥
स वै विवस्त्रो मलिनो विकचः पांसुगुण्ठितः ॥
दमयन्त्या सह श्रान्तः सुष्वाप धरणीतले ॥
दमयन्त्य् अपि कल्याणी निद्रयापहृता ततः ॥
सहसा दुःखम् आसाद्य सुकुमारी तपस्विनी ॥
nala uvāca
yathā rājyaṃ pitus te tat tathā mama na saṃśayaḥ ||
na tu tatra gamiṣyāmi viṣamasthaḥ kathaṃ cana ||
kathaṃ samṛddho gatvāhaṃ tava harṣavivardhanaḥ ||
paridyūno gamiṣyāmi tava śokavivardhanaḥ ||
bṛhadaśva uvāca
iti bruvan nalo rājā damayantīṃ punaḥ punaḥ ||
sāntvayām āsa kalyāṇīṃ vāsaso 'rdhena saṃvṛtām ||
tāv ekavastrasaṃvītāv aṭamānāv itas tataḥ ||
kṣutpipāsāpariśrāntau sabhāṃ kāṃ cid upeyatuḥ ||
tāṃ sabhām upasaṃprāpya tadā sa niṣadhādhipaḥ ||
vaidarbhyā sahito rājā niṣasāda mahītale ||
sa vai vivastro malino vikacaḥ pāṃsuguṇṭhitaḥ ||
damayantyā saha śrāntaḥ suṣvāpa dharaṇītale ||
damayanty api kalyāṇī nidrayāpahṛtā tataḥ ||
sahasā duḥkham āsādya sukumārī tapasvinī ||
Nala said: ‘Your father's kingdom is, without doubt, as much mine as it is yours, but I will never go there in such a wretched state. How could I, who once brought you joy through my prosperity, come to you destitute and only increase your sorrow?’ So, again and again, King Nala consoled the lovely Damayanti, covered by half a garment. The two of them, wrapped in a single cloth, wandered here and there, worn out by hunger and thirst, until they came upon some hall. There the king of Nishadha, together with the daughter of Vidarbha, sat down upon the ground. Naked, soiled, his hair disheveled, covered in dust and exhausted, he fell asleep on the ground beside Damayanti. The lovely Damayanti too, tender and suffering, suddenly overtaken by misfortune, was carried off by sleep.
d1b961eee8b3 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:54:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Nala refuses help not out of pride in his former prosperity but out of shame at his fall. Misfortune often makes mercy harder to accept than suffering itself.