Shloka 443
त्वगस्थिभूतां वेपन्ती ततो भारयामुवाच ह । उन दिद्वान् ब्राह्मणशिरोमणिने अपने ही अनुमानसे यह जान लिया कि यह मेरी वृद्धा स्त्री स्वयं भी क्षुधासे कष्ट पा रही है, थकी है और अत्यन्त दुर्बल हो गयी है। इस तपस्विनीके शरीरमें चमड़ेसे ढकी हुई हड्डियोंका ढाँचामात्र रह गया है और यह काँप रही है। उसकी अवस्थापर दृष्टिपात करके उन्होंने पत्नीसे कहा--
tvag-asthi-bhūtāṁ vepantīṁ tato bhāryām uvāca ha | anenaiva anumānena vidvān brāhmaṇa-śiromaṇiḥ jñātavān—eṣā mama vṛddhā strī svayam api kṣudhā-kliṣṭā, śrāntā, atyanta-durbalā ca | asyāḥ tapasvinyāḥ śarīre tvacā pracchādita-asthi-mātra-śeṣaḥ pañjara-prāyaḥ, sā ca kampate | tasyā avasthāṁ dṛṣṭvā sa patnyai uvāca—
Seeing his wife reduced to little more than skin and bone, trembling under the strain, the learned brahmin—foremost among the wise—understood by his own inference that his aged spouse was herself afflicted by hunger, exhausted, and extremely weak. Observing her condition, he spoke to her—
नकुल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage foregrounds dharma as compassionate responsibility: wisdom is shown not merely in austerity or reasoning, but in recognizing another’s suffering—especially one’s dependent companion—and responding with care and moral urgency.
Nakula narrates a scene in which an eminent brahmin observes his aged, ascetic wife, now severely emaciated and trembling from hunger and exhaustion. Understanding her plight by inference, he addresses her, setting up the next action or counsel in the story.