वैशंपायन उवाच
सहदेवो ऽपि गोपानां कृत्वा वेषम् अनुत्तमम् ॥
भाषां चैषां समास्थाय विराटम् उपयाद् अथ ॥
तम् आयान्तम् अभिप्रेक्ष्य भ्राजमानं नरर्षभम् ॥
समुपस्थाय वै राजा पप्रच्छ कुरुनन्दनम् ॥
कस्य वा त्वं कुतो वा त्वं किं वा तात चिकीर्षसि ॥
न हि मे दृष्टपूर्वस् त्वं तत्त्वं ब्रूहि नरर्षभ ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
sahadevo 'pi gopānāṃ kṛtvā veṣam anuttamam ||
bhāṣāṃ caiṣāṃ samāsthāya virāṭam upayād atha ||
tam āyāntam abhiprekṣya bhrājamānaṃ nararṣabham ||
samupasthāya vai rājā papraccha kurunandanam ||
kasya vā tvaṃ kuto vā tvaṃ kiṃ vā tāta cikīrṣasi ||
na hi me dṛṣṭapūrvas tvaṃ tattvaṃ brūhi nararṣabha ||
Vaishampayana said: 'Sahadeva too, having taken on the finest guise of cowherds and adopted their speech, approached Virata. Seeing him arrive, radiant, a bull among men, the king came up and asked the descendant of Kuru: "Whose are you? Where are you from? What do you wish to do, dear one? I have never seen you before. Tell me the truth, bull among men."'
9afe7de038a1 · published Jul 16, 2026, 5:58:59 PM UTC
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Sahadeva conceals himself not only by dress but by speech. For the year in hiding, every layer of conduct matters: language, gait, craft, and the measure of one's answers.