Shloka 26
Keśinī’s Inquiry to Bāhuka and the Emotional Signs of Concealed Identity (केशिन्याः बाहुकपरीक्षा)
तमुवाच ततो राजा त्वरितो गमने नृप । विद्धयक्षहृददयज्ञं मां संख्याने च विशारदम्,“राजन्! आपमें गणितकी यह अद्भुत शक्ति मैंने देखी है। नराधिप! जिस विद्यासे यह गिनती जान ली जाती है, उसे मैं सुनना चाहता हूँ।' राजा तुरंत जानेके लिये उत्सुक थे, अतः उन्होंने बाहुकसे कहा--“तुम मुझे द्यूत-विद्याका मर्मज्ञ और गणितमें अत्यन्त निपुण समझो'
tam uvāca tato rājā tvarito gamane nṛpa | viddhy akṣahṛdayajñaṃ māṃ saṅkhyāne ca viśāradam ||
Then the king, eager to depart, said: “Know me to be one who understands the very heart of dice-play, and one highly skilled in calculation.”
बृहदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the difference between possessing technical skill (expertise in dice and calculation) and the ethical danger of how such skill is used. In the Mahābhārata’s moral landscape, mastery over a craft does not automatically confer righteousness; dharma depends on intention, restraint, and context.
In the Nala-related episode within Vana Parva, the king—pressed by urgency to move on—asserts his competence: he should be regarded as an expert in the ‘heart’ of dice-play and highly skilled in calculation. It functions as a claim of capability meant to secure trust and facilitate the next action in the story.