Shloka 2
दमयन्तीवाक्य-प्रेषणम्
Damayantī’s Message and the Dispatch of Brahmin Envoys
स राजानमुपातिष्ठद् बाहुको5हमिति ब्रुवन् । अश्वानां वाहने युक्त: पृथिव्यां नास्ति मत्सम:,वे बाहुक नामसे अपना परिचय देते हुए राजा ऋतुपर्णके यहाँ उपस्थित हुए और बोले --'धोड़ोंको हाँकनेकी कलामें इस पृथ्वीपर मेरे समान दूसरा कोई नहीं है
sa rājānam upātiṣṭhad bāhuko 'ham iti bruvan | aśvānāṁ vāhane yuktaḥ pṛthivyāṁ nāsti matsamaḥ ||
Bṛhadaśva said: He approached King Ṛtupārṇa and, introducing himself as Bāhuka, declared, “In the art of driving horses there is no one on this earth equal to me.” The episode underscores how skill, when joined with humility and a strategic purpose, can become a means of protection and right action in adversity.
ब॒हदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
Competence and disciplined skill can be ethically employed as a form of right means (upāya) during hardship; one may accept humble service or even an assumed identity to protect oneself and fulfill a larger righteous purpose.
A figure identifying himself as Bāhuka comes before King Ṛtupārṇa seeking a place in his service, asserting unmatched expertise in driving horses—setting up his acceptance into the king’s household as a charioteer.