तदु ह जानश्रुतिः पौत्रायण उपशुश्राव स ह संजिहान एव क्षत्तारमुवाचाङ्गारे ह सयुग्वानमिव रैक्वमात्थेति यो नु कथं सयुग्वा रैक्व इति ॥ ४.१.५ ॥
यथा कृतायविजितायाधरेयाः संयन्त्येवमेनं सर्वं तदभिसमैति यत्किंच प्रजाः साधु कुर्वन्ति यस्तद्वेद यत्स वेद स मयैतदुक्त इति ॥ ४.१.६ ॥tadu ha jānaśrutiḥ pautrāyaṇa upaśuśrāva sa ha saṃjihāna eva kṣattāramuvācāṅgāre ha sayugvānamiva raikvamāttheti yo nu kathaṃ sayugvā raikva iti || 4.1.5 ||
yathā kṛtāyavijitāyādhareyāḥ saṃyantyevamenaṃ sarvaṃ tadabhisamaiti yatkiṃca prajāḥ sādhu kurvanti yastadveda yatsa veda sa mayaitadukta iti || 4.1.6 ||5-6. Jānaśruti Pautrāyaṇa overheard what the swan said. He got up from his bed and the first thing he did was to ask his attendant [who was standing nearby]: ‘O my child, can I be compared to Raikva with the cart? Who is this Raikva with the cart? What sort of person is he?’ [Then he quoted what the swan had said:] ‘Just as in a game of dice, if a person wins the toss called kṛta, he automatically wins the lower tosses also, in the same way, whatever good work people do goes to the credit of Raikva. If anyone knows what Raikva knows, he becomes like Raikva. This is how I would describe Raikva.’
Word-for-word explanation:
U tat, that [what the swan said]; jānaśrutiḥ pautrāyaṇa upaśuśrāva, the great-grandson of Janaśruta overheard; saḥ ha sañjihānaḥ, he got up from his bed; eva kṣattāram uvāca, and immediately said to his charioteer; aṅga are, O my child; sayugvānam iva raikvam āttha ha iti, do you compare me with Raikva with the cart; yaḥ sayugvā raikva iti, who is this Raikva with the cart; nu katham, what sort of person is he?; Yathā, just as; kṛtāya-vijitāya, if a person wins the toss of dice called kṛta; adhareyāḥ, all lower tosses [i.e., tretā, three; dvāpara, two; and kali, one]; samyanti, are included [i.e., are also won]; evam, in the same way; yat kiñca prajāḥ sādhu kurvanti, whatever good work people do; enam sarvam tat abhisamaiti, all that comes under that one [i.e., it goes to the credit of Raikva]; yaḥ tat veda, he who knows that; yat saḥ veda, whatever he [Raikva] knows; saḥ mayā etat uktaḥ iti, this is said of him by me.
Commentary:
Jānaśruti was disturbed by what the swans had said about him. Maybe he could not be compared with Raikva, but in what way did Raikva excel over him? Who was this Raikva with a cart?
Jānaśruti had a sleepless night. The next morning when he got up, the first thing he did was to question his attendant about this Raikva. He wanted to somehow find out in what respect Raikva was superior to him.