सुप्तायां दमयन्त्यां तु नलो राजा विशां पते ॥
शोकोन्मथितचित्तात्मा न स्म शेते यथा पुरा ॥
स तद् राज्यापहरणं सुहृत्त्यागं च सर्वशः ॥
वने च तं परिध्वंसं प्रेक्ष्य चिन्ताम् उपेयिवान् ॥
किं नु मे स्याद् इदं कृत्वा किं नु मे स्याद् अकुर्वतः ॥
किं नु मे मरणं श्रेयः परित्यागो जनस्य वा ॥
माम् इयं ह्य् अनुरक्तेदं दुःखम् आप्नोति मत्कृते ॥
मद्विहीना त्व् इयं गच्छेत् कदा चित् स्वजनं प्रति ॥
मया निःसंशयं दुःखम् इयं प्राप्स्यत्य् अनुत्तमा ॥
उत्सर्गे संशयः स्यात् तु विन्देतापि सुखं क्व चित् ॥
स विनिश्चित्य बहुधा विचार्य च पुनः पुनः ॥
उत्सर्गे ऽमन्यत श्रेयो दमयन्त्या नराधिपः ॥
सो ऽवस्त्रताम् आत्मनश् च तस्याश् चाप्य् एकवस्त्रताम् ॥
चिन्तयित्वाध्यगाद् राजा वस्त्रार्धस्यावकर्तनम् ॥
कथं वासो विकर्तेयं न च बुध्येत मे प्रिया ॥
चिन्त्यैवं नैषधो राजा सभां पर्यचरत् तदा ॥
परिधावन्न् अथ नल इतश् चेतश् च भारत ॥
आससाद सभोद्देशे विकोशं खड्गम् उत्तमम् ॥
तेनार्धं वाससश् छित्त्वा निवस्य च परंतपः ॥
सुप्ताम् उत्सृज्य वैदर्भीं प्राद्रवद् गतचेतनः ॥
suptāyāṃ damayantyāṃ tu nalo rājā viśāṃ pate ||
śokonmathitacittātmā na sma śete yathā purā ||
sa tad rājyāpaharaṇaṃ suhṛttyāgaṃ ca sarvaśaḥ ||
vane ca taṃ paridhvaṃsaṃ prekṣya cintām upeyivān ||
kiṃ nu me syād idaṃ kṛtvā kiṃ nu me syād akurvataḥ ||
kiṃ nu me maraṇaṃ śreyaḥ parityāgo janasya vā ||
mām iyaṃ hy anuraktedaṃ duḥkham āpnoti matkṛte ||
madvihīnā tv iyaṃ gacchet kadā cit svajanaṃ prati ||
mayā niḥsaṃśayaṃ duḥkham iyaṃ prāpsyaty anuttamā ||
utsarge saṃśayaḥ syāt tu vindetāpi sukhaṃ kva cit ||
sa viniścitya bahudhā vicārya ca punaḥ punaḥ ||
utsarge 'manyata śreyo damayantyā narādhipaḥ ||
so 'vastratām ātmanaś ca tasyāś cāpy ekavastratām ||
cintayitvādhyagād rājā vastrārdhasyāvakartanam ||
kathaṃ vāso vikarteyaṃ na ca budhyeta me priyā ||
cintyaivaṃ naiṣadho rājā sabhāṃ paryacarat tadā ||
paridhāvann atha nala itaś cetaś ca bhārata ||
āsasāda sabhoddeśe vikośaṃ khaḍgam uttamam ||
tenārdhaṃ vāsasaś chittvā nivasya ca paraṃtapaḥ ||
suptām utsṛjya vaidarbhīṃ prādravad gatacetanaḥ ||
While Damayanti slept, King Nala, his heart and mind churned by grief, O lord of men, could no longer sleep as he once had. He thought of the loss of his kingdom, the abandonment of his friends, and his ruin in the forest, and fell into anxious thought: ‘What will become of me if I do this? What will become of me if I do not? Is death better for me, or is it better to leave her? Out of devotion to me she suffers this misery for my sake. Without me, she may someday return to her own people. With me, she will surely meet with misfortune; if I leave her, it is uncertain, but perhaps somewhere she will find happiness.’ Having resolved this many times and pondered it again and again, the king concluded that it would be better for Damayanti to be left behind. He thought of his own nakedness and of the fact that she too had but a single garment, and began to consider how to cut off half the cloth without waking his beloved. Pacing through the hall, King Nala came upon a fine sword lying unsheathed in a corner of the hall. With it he cut off half of the garment, the scorcher of foes put it on, and, abandoning the sleeping daughter of Vidarbha, fled, his reason gone.
b8f442abf71d · publicado 16 jul 2026, 16:54:09 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Nala's decision is born of a distorted care: he wants to save Damayanti from himself, yet he acts under the power of Kali. Even a good intention, once it loses clarity, can turn cruel.