Shloka 29
Keśinī’s Inquiry to Bāhuka and the Emotional Signs of Concealed Identity (केशिन्याः बाहुकपरीक्षा)
यथोक्तं त्वं गृहाणेदमक्षाणां हृदयं परम् निक्षेपो मे5श्वह्दयं त्वयि तिष्ठतु बाहुक । एवमुकक््त्वा ददौ विद्यामृतुपर्णो नलाय वै,“बाहुक! तुम मुझसे द्यूत-विद्याका गूढ़ रहस्य ग्रहण करो और अभश्वविज्ञानको मेरे लिये अपने ही पास धरोहरके रूपमें रहने दो।” ऐसा कहकर ऋतुपर्णने नलको अपनी विद्या दे दी
Bṛhadaśva uvāca: yathoktaṁ tvaṁ gṛhāṇedam akṣāṇāṁ hṛdayaṁ param | nikṣepo me ’śvahṛdayaṁ tvayi tiṣṭhatu bāhuka | evam uktvā dadau vidyām ṛtupārṇo nalāya vai ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “As I have stated, accept from me this supreme ‘heart’—the innermost secret—of the dice. And let my deposit, the knowledge called Aśvahṛdaya (the science of horses), remain with you, O Bāhuka.” Having spoken thus, King Ṛtupārṇa indeed bestowed his knowledge upon Nala. In the narrative, this is an exchange of specialized skills: mastery over gambling is transmitted, while the horse-lore is held in trust—highlighting how knowledge can be treated as a moral obligation and a pledged responsibility rather than mere possession.
बृहदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
Knowledge is portrayed as a trust: one may receive a powerful skill (the ‘heart’ of dice), but one must also safeguard what is entrusted (Aśvahṛdaya) with integrity. The verse frames learning and expertise within ethical responsibility—skills can uplift or harm depending on how they are held and used.
Ṛtupārṇa, addressing Nala under the name Bāhuka, agrees to transmit the deep secret of gambling (akṣāṇāṁ hṛdayaṁ param). In return, the horse-lore called Aśvahṛdaya is to remain with Bāhuka as a pledged deposit. The exchange advances Nala’s recovery of competence and agency within the Nala–Damayantī episode.