Shloka 71

Keśinī’s Inquiry to Bāhuka and the Emotional Signs of Concealed Identity (केशिन्याः बाहुकपरीक्षा)

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत नलोपाख्यानपर्वमें ऋतुपर्णका विदर्भदिशमें गमनविषयक इकहतत्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

Iti prakāraṃ Śrīmahābhārate Vanaparvaṇi antargate Nalopākhyānaparvaṇi Ṛtūparṇasya Vidarbhadiśi gamanaviṣayaka ekasaptatitamo ’dhyāyaḥ samāptaḥ.

Translation

هكذا ينتهي الفصل الحادي والسبعون من قصة نالا، الواردة ضمن «فانا بارفا» من «المهابهارتا»، وفيه ذِكرُ مسير الملك رِتوبَرْنَة (Ṛtūparṇa) قاصدًا أرض فيداربها (Vidarbha). وتُشير خاتمةُ الفصل إلى انتقالٍ في مجرى الحكاية: فحركةُ الملك المقصودة تمهّد للمنعطف التالي، حيث يستمر انكشاف العزم والواجب (الدارما) وعواقب الاختيارات الماضية.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• प्रकारम्: manner/way
• प्रकारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रकार
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• श्री: auspiciousness; honorific 'Śrī'
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• महाभारत: Mahābhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• वनपर्वके: in the Vana-parvan section
• वनपर्वके: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वनपर्वक
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अन्तर्गत: included/contained
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्तर्गत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• नलोपाख्यानपर्वणि: in the Nala-upākhyāna sub-parvan
• नलोपाख्यानपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नलोपाख्यानपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• ऋतुपर्णस्य: of Ṛtupārṇa
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋतुपर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• विदर्भदिशि: in the Vidarbha direction/region
• विदर्भदिशि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विदर्भदिश्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• गमनविषयक: concerning the going/journey
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गमनविषयक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एकहत्तरतमः: seventy-first
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकहत्तरतम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पूरः: complete
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अभवत्: was/became
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular

Speaker

ऋचुपर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ṛtūparṇa
• Vidarbha
• Mahābhārata
• Vana Parva
• Nalopākhyāna

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the ethical arc by marking a decisive journey. It highlights purposeful action (pravṛtti) in response to duty and circumstance, reminding the reader that choices and movement in the world carry consequences that shape the unfolding of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text announces the completion of the seventy-first chapter of the Nalopākhyāna within the Vana Parva, specifically the portion about King Ṛtūparṇa’s departure and travel toward Vidarbha. It functions as a formal closure and signals the next narrative development.