स हेभ्यं कुल्माषान्खादन्तं बिभिक्षे तं होवाच । नेतोऽन्ये विद्यन्ते यच्च ये म इम उपनिहिता इति ॥ १.१०.२ ॥
sa hebhyaṃ kulmāṣānkhādantaṃ bibhikṣe taṃ hovāca | neto’nye vidyante yacca ye ma ima upanihitā iti || 1.10.2 ||
2. Uṣasti saw an elephant-driver eating some pulses of poor quality, and he begged for a share of his food. The elephant-driver replied: ‘This food in my bowl is all I have to eat. Besides this, I have nothing. [What should I do?]’.
Word-for-word explanation:
Saḥ, he [Uṣasti]; kulmāṣān, bad food grains; khādantam, eating; ibhyam, an elephant[-driver]; bibhikṣe, begged; ha tam uvāca, that [elephant-driver] said to him; itaḥ, besides these [pulses]; na anye vidyante, nothing further exists; yat ye ca ime, that which [the pulses]; me, my; upanihitāḥ, thrown [into my eating bowl]; [kim karomi, what should I do].
Commentary:
The food itself was bad, and besides that, it was hardly enough for the elephant-driver, but there was nothing else he could give Uṣasti. By implication, he regretted his inability to help.