तमु ह परः प्रत्युवाच कम्वर एनमेतत्सन्तं सयुग्वानमिव रैक्वमात्थेति यो नु कथं सयुग्वा रैक्व इति ॥ ४.१.३ ॥
tamu ha paraḥ pratyuvāca kamvara enametatsantaṃ sayugvānamiva raikvamāttheti yo nu kathaṃ sayugvā raikva iti || 4.1.3 ||
3. The swan in front replied: ‘Say, who is this person? From the way you are talking one would think he was Raikva with the cart.’ Then the other swan asked, ‘And who is this Raikva with the cart you are referring to?’.
Word-for-word explanation:
Paraḥ, the other [i.e., the swan in front]; pratyuvāca, replied; are kam u enam etat santam, [feigning contempt and a mood to debate] say, who is this one; sayugvānam raikvam iva āttha iti, you are talking as if he were Raikva with the cart; yaḥ nu katham sayugvā raikvaḥ iti, [the other swan asked] who is this Raikva with the cart that you are referring to?
Commentary:
What the swan in front meant was: ‘This prince is a worthless fellow. He by no means deserves the honour you are paying him. You are talking of him as if he had attained Self-knowledge—as if he were a great person like Sayugvā Raikva (that is, Raikva who rides the small cart).’ But the other swan did not know who this Sayugvā Raikva was.