Shloka 32

Rathaghoṣa–Saṃjñāna: Damayantī’s Inference and the Dispatch of the Envoy (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 71)

Devanagari script

भवेन्न मतिभेदो मे गात्रवैरूप्यतां प्रति । प्रमाणात्‌ परिहीनस्तु भवेदिति मतिर्मम,“इसके शरीरकी रूपहीनताको लक्ष्य करके मेरी बुद्धिमें यह भेद नहीं पैदा होता कि यह नल नहीं है, परंतु राजा नलकी जो मोटाई है, उससे यह कुछ दुबला-पतला है। उससे मेरे मनमें यह विचार होता है कि सम्भव है, यह नल न हो

Transliteration

bhaven na matibhedo me gātravairūpyatāṃ prati | pramāṇāt parihīnas tu bhaved iti matir mama ||

Translation

ルトゥパルナ王は言った。「その身の醜変ゆえに、わが判断がただちに疑いへと割れることはない。それだけで『彼はナラではない』とは断じぬ。だが、我が知るナラ王の体つきの厚みと比べれば、この者はやや痩せ、身の丈も減じたように見える。ゆえに心は、『あるいはナラではないのか』という思いを抱くのだ。」

Word by Word

भवेत्may be / would be

नnot

मतिभेदःdifference of opinion/idea; doubt

मेof me / my

गात्रवैरूप्यताम्bodily deformity/ugliness

प्रतिtowards; with regard to

प्रमाणात्from the proper measure/standard

परिहीनःdevoid; lacking; reduced

तुbut; however

भवेत्may be / would be

इतिthus; 'that'

मतिःthought; idea

ममof me / my

Speaker

ऋचुपर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Ṛ

Ṛtuparṇa

Nala

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights careful discernment: one should not form a decisive judgment based solely on outward deformity. External appearance can mislead; prudent evaluation weighs multiple signs before concluding.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Ṛtuparṇa is assessing whether the person before him is truly Nala. He notes that bodily disfigurement alone does not convince him it is not Nala, yet the reduced bodily measure makes him consider the possibility that it may be someone else.