Bhashya
तदु ह तदेतदीदृशं हंसवाक्यमात्मनः कुत्सारूपमन्यस्यविदुषो रैक्वादेः प्रशंसारूपम् उपशुश्राव श्रुतवान्हर्म्यतलस्थोराजा जानश्रुतिः पौत्रायणः ।तच्च हंसवाक्यं स्मरन्नेव पौनः-पुन्येन रात्रिशेषमतिवाहयामास ।ततः स वन्दिभी राजास्तुतियुक्ताभिर्वाग्भिः प्रतिबोध्यमानः उवाच क्षत्तारं संजि-हान एव शयनं निद्रां वा परित्यजन्नेव, हेऽङ्ग वत्स अरे सयु-ग्वानमिव रैक्वमात्थ किं माम् ; स एव स्तुत्यर्हो नाहमित्यभि-प्रायः ।अथवा सयुग्वानं रैक्वमात्थ गत्वा मम तद्दिदृक्षाम् ।तदा इवशब्दोऽवधारणार्थोऽनर्थको वा वाच्यः ।स च क्षत्ताप्रत्युवाच रैक्वानयनकामो राज्ञोऽभिप्रायज्ञः— यो नु कथंसयुग्वा रैक्व इति, राज्ञा एवं चोक्तः आनेतुं तच्चिह्नं ज्ञातु-मिच्छन् यो नु कथं सयुग्वा रैक्व इत्यवोचन् ।स च भ-ल्लाक्षवचनमेवावोचत् तस्य स्मरन् ॥
In plain words
King Janaśruti Pautrāyaṇa, resting upon his palace roof, overheard the conversation of the two swans—words that stung him as a censure of his own smallness while praising the wisdom of the sage Raikva. Remembering those words, the king spent the rest of the night awake. When morning came, as the bards greeted him with songs of praise, he rose from his bed and said to his chamberlain: 'Friend, child, why do you speak of me as if I were Raikva with his cart? He alone is worthy of praise, not I.' Or perhaps he meant: 'Go and find Raikva, for I long to see him.' The word 'iva' in the swans' speech may be taken as an emphatic particle or simply as a filler. Knowing the king's mind and wishing to find the sage, the chamberlain asked, 'How indeed is this Raikva?' Wishing to learn his identifying marks so he could bring him, he repeated the exact words spoken by Bhallākṣa.
Close to the Sanskrit
That indeed and that such swan speech of the self, as a form of censure for himself and as a form of praise for another knowing one like Raikva, heard the king Janaśruti Pautrāyaṇa residing on the palace roof. And remembering that swan speech repeatedly, he spent the remainder of the night. Then he, being awakened by bards with words endowed with praise, spoke to the chamberlain, as he was just rising from bed or abandoning sleep: 'Hey friend, dear child, do you speak of Raikva to me as if he were a possessor of a chariot team? He alone is worthy of praise, not I,' such was his intent. Or else: 'You speak of Raikva as a possessor of a chariot team; having gone, bring about my desire to see him.' Then the word 'iva' is to be stated as having the sense of certainty or as meaningless. And that chamberlain, desirous of bringing Raikva and knowing the king's intent, said: 'Who now and how is Raikva, the possessor of a chariot team?' Having been thus addressed by the king, wishing to know his mark in order to bring him, he spoke: 'Who now and how is Raikva, the possessor of a chariot team?' And he spoke the very words of Bhallākṣa, remembering them.