Shloka 28
Keśinī’s Inquiry to Bāhuka and the Emotional Signs of Concealed Identity (केशिन्याः बाहुकपरीक्षा)
ऋतुपर्णस्ततो राजा बाहुक॑ कार्यगौरवात् । हयज्ञानस्य लोभाच्च तं तथेत्यब्रवीद् वच:,तब राजा ऋतुपर्णने कार्यकी गुरुता और अश्व-विज्ञानके लोभसे बाहुकको आश्वासन देते हुए कहा--“तथास्तु”
ṛtuparṇas tato rājā bāhukaṃ kāryagauravāt | hayajñānasya lobhāc ca taṃ tathety abravīd vacaḥ ||
Then King Ṛtuparṇa, weighing the urgency of his own business and tempted by the prospect of learning the secret of horsemanship, reassured Bāhuka and said, “So be it.”
बृहदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how urgency and personal desire can shape a ruler’s decisions: Ṛtuparṇa agrees not purely from principle but from the pressure of his task and the lure of specialized knowledge, illustrating the ethical tension between duty-driven choice and desire-driven consent.
King Ṛtuparṇa responds to Bāhuka’s proposal/request by giving assurance—“tathāstu” (“so be it”). His agreement is motivated by the seriousness of his immediate business and his eagerness to obtain knowledge of horses.