Then Sukesas Bhâradvâga asked him, saying: "Sir, Hiranyanâbha, the prince of Kosalâ, came to me and asked this question: Do you know the person of sixteen parts, O Bhâradvâga? I said to the prince: I do not know him; if I knew him, how should I not tell you? Surely, he who speaks what is untrue withers away to the very root; therefore I will not say what is untrue. Then he mounted his chariot and went away silently. Now I ask you, where is that person?"

In plain words: The last student, Sukesha, tells the teacher that a prince once asked him about the 'person of sixteen parts.' Sukesha honestly said he did not know, because telling a lie destroys a person to the root. The prince left in silence. Now Sukesha asks the teacher where that person is.