सहदेव उवाच
पञ्चानां पाण्डुपुत्राणां ज्येष्ठो राजा युधिष्ठिरः ॥
तस्याष्टशतसाहस्रा गवां वर्गाः शतं शताः ॥
अपरे दशसाहस्रा द्विस् तावन्तस् तथापरे ॥
तेषां गोसंख्य आसं वै तन्तिपालेति मां विदुः ॥
भूतं भव्यं भविष्यच् च यच् च संख्यागतं क्व चित् ॥
न मे ऽस्त्य् अविदितं किं चित् समन्ताद् दशयोजनम् ॥
गुणाः सुविदिता ह्य् आसन् मम तस्य महात्मनः ॥
आसीच् च स मया तुष्टः कुरुराजो युधिष्ठिरः ॥
क्षिप्रं हि गावो बहुला भवन्ति; न तासु रोगो भवतीह कश् चित् ॥
तैस् तैर् उपायैर् विदितं मयैतद्; एतानि शिल्पानि मयि स्थितानि ॥
वृषभांश् चापि जानामि राजन् पूजितलक्षणान् ॥
येषां मूत्रम् उपाघ्राय अपि वन्ध्या प्रसूयते ॥
sahadeva uvāca
pañcānāṃ pāṇḍuputrāṇāṃ jyeṣṭho rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
tasyāṣṭaśatasāhasrā gavāṃ vargāḥ śataṃ śatāḥ ||
apare daśasāhasrā dvis tāvantas tathāpare ||
teṣāṃ gosaṃkhya āsaṃ vai tantipāleti māṃ viduḥ ||
bhūtaṃ bhavyaṃ bhaviṣyac ca yac ca saṃkhyāgataṃ kva cit ||
na me 'sty aviditaṃ kiṃ cit samantād daśayojanam ||
guṇāḥ suviditā hy āsan mama tasya mahātmanaḥ ||
āsīc ca sa mayā tuṣṭaḥ kururājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
kṣipraṃ hi gāvo bahulā bhavanti; na tāsu rogo bhavatīha kaś cit ||
tais tair upāyair viditaṃ mayaitad; etāni śilpāni mayi sthitāni ||
vṛṣabhāṃś cāpi jānāmi rājan pūjitalakṣaṇān ||
yeṣāṃ mūtram upāghrāya api vandhyā prasūyate ||
Sahadeva said: 'Among the five sons of Pandu, the eldest is King Yudhishthira. He had hundreds of herds of cattle -- eight hundred thousand, and tens of thousands more, and twice as many again besides. I was their cattle-counter, and they knew me as Tantipala. Past, future, and present -- whatever enters into the count anywhere -- nothing within ten yojanas around remains unknown to me. My qualities were well known to that great-souled king of the Kurus, Yudhishthira, and he was pleased with me. Cows in my charge quickly grow numerous, and among them no disease ever arises here; by various means I know this, these skills abide in me. I know also bulls marked with honored signs, O king -- by smelling whose urine even a barren cow bears young.'
1b5abbfe9a43 · published Jul 16, 2026, 5:58:59 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Sahadeva speaks of counting as a form of knowledge of order. For him a herd is not a mass of animals but a living system, where care, signs, and measure sustain abundance.