Shloka 443
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
त्वगस्थिभूतां वेपन्ती ततो भारयामुवाच ह । उन दिद्वान् ब्राह्मणशिरोमणिने अपने ही अनुमानसे यह जान लिया कि यह मेरी वृद्धा स्त्री स्वयं भी क्षुधासे कष्ट पा रही है
tvag-asthi-bhūtāṁ vepantīṁ tato bhāryām uvāca ha | anenaiva anumānena vidvān brāhmaṇa-śiromaṇiḥ jñātavān—eṣā mama vṛddhā strī svayam api kṣudhā-kliṣṭā, śrāntā, atyanta-durbalā ca | asyāḥ tapasvinyāḥ śarīre tvacā pracchādita-asthi-mātra-śeṣaḥ pañjara-prāyaḥ, sā ca kampate | tasyā avasthāṁ dṛṣṭvā sa patnyai uvāca—
他见妻子几乎只剩皮包骨，因重苦而战栗；那位学识渊深、智者之冠的婆罗门，凭自身推知：自己年迈的配偶亦为饥饿所逼，疲惫不堪，虚弱至极。凝视她的境况，他便对妻子说道——
नकुल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage foregrounds dharma as compassionate responsibility: wisdom is shown not merely in austerity or reasoning, but in recognizing another’s suffering—especially one’s dependent companion—and responding with care and moral urgency.
Nakula narrates a scene in which an eminent brahmin observes his aged, ascetic wife, now severely emaciated and trembling from hunger and exhaustion. Understanding her plight by inference, he addresses her, setting up the next action or counsel in the story.