Shloka 2
दमयन्तीवाक्य-प्रेषणम्
Damayantī’s Message and the Dispatch of Brahmin Envoys
स राजानमुपातिष्ठद् बाहुको5हमिति ब्रुवन् । अश्वानां वाहने युक्त: पृथिव्यां नास्ति मत्सम:,वे बाहुक नामसे अपना परिचय देते हुए राजा ऋतुपर्णके यहाँ उपस्थित हुए और बोले --'धोड़ोंको हाँकनेकी कलामें इस पृथ्वीपर मेरे समान दूसरा कोई नहीं है
sa rājānam upātiṣṭhad bāhuko 'ham iti bruvan | aśvānāṁ vāhane yuktaḥ pṛthivyāṁ nāsti matsamaḥ ||
ਉਹ ਰਾਜਾ ਰਿਤੁਪਰਣ ਕੋਲ ਹਾਜ਼ਰ ਹੋਇਆ ਅਤੇ ‘ਮੈਂ ਬਾਹੁਕ ਹਾਂ’ ਕਹਿ ਕੇ ਬੋਲਿਆ—‘ਘੋੜੇ ਦੌੜਾਉਣ ਦੀ ਕਲਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਇਸ ਧਰਤੀ ਉੱਤੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਬਰਾਬਰ ਕੋਈ ਨਹੀਂ।’
ब॒हदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
Competence and disciplined skill can be ethically employed as a form of right means (upāya) during hardship; one may accept humble service or even an assumed identity to protect oneself and fulfill a larger righteous purpose.
A figure identifying himself as Bāhuka comes before King Ṛtupārṇa seeking a place in his service, asserting unmatched expertise in driving horses—setting up his acceptance into the king’s household as a charioteer.