Shloka 7
Keśinī’s Inquiry to Bāhuka and the Emotional Signs of Concealed Identity (केशिन्याः बाहुकपरीक्षा)
तं दृष्टवा बाहुक॑ राजा त्वरमाणो5भ्यभाषत । ममापि सूत पश्य त्वं संख्याने परमं बलम्,उस वृक्षको देखकर राजा ऋतुपर्णने तुरंत ही बाहुकसे कहा--'सूत! तुम देखो, मुझमें भी गणना करने (हिसाब लगाने) की कितनी अद्भुत शक्ति है
taṁ dṛṣṭvā bāhukaḥ rājā tvaramāṇo 'bhyabhāṣata | mamāpi sūta paśya tvaṁ saṅkhyāne paramaṁ balam ||
Seeing that, King Ṛtupārṇa—Bāhuka’s master—spoke in haste: “Charioteer, look! I too possess extraordinary power in calculation.”
बृहदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that true ‘strength’ can be intellectual and practical—mastery of calculation and knowledge. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical world, such skills are not neutral: they shape relationships of trust and can become instruments that alter destiny, so competence carries responsibility.
Bṛhadaśva narrates that King Ṛtupārṇa, seeing something that prompts urgency, quickly addresses Bāhuka (Nala in disguise), calling him ‘sūta’ and claiming he too has remarkable ability in computation—foreshadowing an exchange of specialized knowledge between them.