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

“അമ്മേ! ബാഹുകൻ തന്നെയോ നലൻ എന്ന സംശയത്തിൽ ഞാൻ അവനെ പലവട്ടം പരീക്ഷിച്ചു; എല്ലാം ലക്ഷണങ്ങളും ഒത്തുചേരുന്നു. എന്നാൽ ഒരു സംശയം മാത്രം ശേഷിക്കുന്നു—അവന്റെ നലരൂപം. അത് ഞാൻ തന്നെ അറിയാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നു.”

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.