Shloka 32
Rathaghoṣa–Saṃjñāna: Damayantī’s Inference and the Dispatch of the Envoy (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 71)
भवेन्न मतिभेदो मे गात्रवैरूप्यतां प्रति । प्रमाणात् परिहीनस्तु भवेदिति मतिर्मम,“इसके शरीरकी रूपहीनताको लक्ष्य करके मेरी बुद्धिमें यह भेद नहीं पैदा होता कि यह नल नहीं है, परंतु राजा नलकी जो मोटाई है, उससे यह कुछ दुबला-पतला है। उससे मेरे मनमें यह विचार होता है कि सम्भव है, यह नल न हो
bhaven na matibhedo me gātravairūpyatāṃ prati | pramāṇāt parihīnas tu bhaved iti matir mama ||
律图帕尔那说道：“我并不因他形体有缺便立刻生出分歧与疑虑，仅凭此我不下断言说他不是那罗。然而与我所知那罗王的体格丰厚相比，此人似乎略显消瘦、身量也减了些；因此我心中便起一念：或许他并非那罗。”
ऋचुपर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights careful discernment: one should not form a decisive judgment based solely on outward deformity. External appearance can mislead; prudent evaluation weighs multiple signs before concluding.
King Ṛtuparṇa is assessing whether the person before him is truly Nala. He notes that bodily disfigurement alone does not convince him it is not Nala, yet the reduced bodily measure makes him consider the possibility that it may be someone else.