Shloka 3

Devanagari script

परीक्षितो मे बहुशो बाहुको नलशड्कया । रूपे मे संशयस्त्वेक: स्वयमिच्छामि वेदितुम्‌,(और यह कहलाया--) “माँ! मेरे मनमें बाहुकके ही नलके होनेका संदेह था, जिसकी मैंने बार-बार परीक्षा करा ली है और सब लक्षण तो मिल गये हैं। केवल नलके रूपमें संदेह रह गया है। इस संदेहका निवारण करनेके लिये मैं स्वयं पता लगाना चाहती हूँ

Transliteration

parīkṣito me bahuśo bāhuko nalaśaṅkayā | rūpe me saṁśayas tv ekaḥ svayam icchāmi veditum ||

Translation

Bṛhadaśvā said: “Mother, suspecting that Bāhuka is truly Nala, I have tested him again and again, and the signs have matched. Yet one doubt remains—his very appearance as Nala. To remove this uncertainty, I wish to ascertain it for myself.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'parīkṣitaḥ', 'gloss': 'tested, examined, put to trial'}, {'term': 'me', 'gloss': 'by me

• for me (my)'}, {'term': 'bahuśaḥ', 'gloss': 'many times, repeatedly'}, {'term': 'bāhukaḥ', 'gloss': 'Bāhuka (Nala in disguise, serving as a charioteer/cook)'}, {'term': 'nala-śaṅkayā', 'gloss': 'with the suspicion that (he is) Nala'}, {'term': 'rūpe', 'gloss': 'in (his) form/appearance'}, {'term': 'saṁśayaḥ', 'gloss': 'doubt, uncertainty'}, {'term': 'tu', 'gloss': 'but, however'}, {'term': 'ekaḥ', 'gloss': 'one, single'}, {'term': 'svayam', 'gloss': 'personally, oneself'}, {'term': 'icchāmi', 'gloss': 'I wish, I desire'}, {'term': 'veditum', 'gloss': 'to know, to ascertain'}]

Speaker

बृहदश्चव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bṛhadaśvā
• Bāhuka
• Nala
• Mother (addressed figure)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage emphasizes careful discernment and commitment to truth: even when many signs align, one should resolve remaining doubts through direct, responsible verification rather than acting on uncertainty.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker reports that Bāhuka has been repeatedly tested under the suspicion that he is actually Nala in disguise; most indications confirm it, but uncertainty about his true appearance remains, prompting a desire to confirm the truth personally.