Shloka 216
Adhyāya 73: Damayantī’s Investigation of Bāhuka
Keśinī’s Observations
अकस्मात् सहसा प्राप्तं स्त्रीमन्त्रं न सम विन्दति । भूपाल ऋतुपर्ण रमणीय कुण्डिनपुरमें ठहर गये। उन्हें बार-बार देखनेपर भी वहाँ (स्वयंवर-जैसी) कोई चीज नहीं दिखायी दी। वे विदर्भनरेशसे मिलकर सहसा इस बातको न जान सके कि यह स्त्रियोंकी अकस्मात् गुप्त मन्त्रणामात्र थी
akasmāt sahasā prāptaṃ strīmantraṃ na sama vindati | bhūpāla ṛtuparṇa ramaṇīye kuṇḍinapure sthitavān | taṃ punaḥ punaḥ paśyann api tatra (svayaṃvara-sadṛśaṃ) kiṃcid api na dadarśa | sa vidarbha-nareśena saha sahasā na bubudhe yad etat strīṇām akasmāt gupta-mantraṇā-mātram iti |
ブリハダシュヴァは語った。「女たちの秘めた相談は、にわかに、しかも慌ただしく持ち込まれると、その真意をたやすく掴むことはできぬ。ルトゥパルナ王は麗しきクンディナの都に逗留したが、幾度見回しても、スヴァヤンヴァラ（自選婚）のような公の催しに似たものは何一つ見当たらなかった。ヴィダルバ王に面会してなお、王はただちに事情を悟れなかった――それは女たちの突如としての密議にすぎなかったのである。」
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how sudden, private counsel—especially conducted in a concealed social sphere—can be difficult for outsiders to interpret. Ethically, it cautions against hasty conclusions based on incomplete signs and underscores the limits of perception when information is intentionally kept secret.
Ṛtuparṇa arrives and stays in Kuṇḍinapura, repeatedly looking for some public event like a svayaṃvara but finds no such visible occasion. Even after meeting the Vidarbha king, he cannot immediately understand that the matter at hand is merely a sudden, secret consultation among the women.