Shloka 16
Rathaghoṣa–Saṃjñāna: Damayantī’s Inference and the Dispatch of the Envoy (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 71)
बाहुक उवाच एको ललाटे द्वौ मूर्थ्नि द्वौ द्वौ पाश्चोपपार्श्चयो: । दौ दौ वक्षसि विज्ञेयौ प्रयाणे चैक एव तु,बाहुकने कहा--राजन्! ललाटमें एक, मस्तकमें दो, पार्श्रभागमें दो, उपपार्श्वभागमें भी दो, छातीमें दोनों ओर दो दो और पीठमें एक--इस प्रकार कुल बारह भँवरियोंको पहचानकर घोड़े रथमें जोतने चाहिये
bāhuka uvāca— eko lalāṭe dvau mūrdhni dvau dvau pārśvopapārśvayoḥ | dvau dvau vakṣasi vijñeyau prayāṇe caika eva tu ||
Bāhuka disse: “Ó rei, deve-se notar um redemoinho na testa; dois na cabeça; dois nos flancos e, do mesmo modo, dois nas regiões junto aos flancos; dois de cada lado do peito; e um no dorso. Reconhecendo esses doze redemoinhos, deve-se atrelar tal cavalo ao carro.”
बाहुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Competent action in a ruler’s life depends on careful discernment: one should recognize reliable physical markers (here, twelve hair-whorls) before selecting and yoking a horse, emphasizing informed choice and practical responsibility.
Bāhuka addresses the king and lists the locations and count of hair-whorls on a horse’s body, presenting them as identifying marks of a horse fit to be yoked to a chariot.