bālo mukhaṁhastābhyāṁ gūhati

 The Sanskrit phrase "bālo mukhaṁhastābhyāṁ gūhati" 

can be written in Devanagari as बालो मुखंहस्ताभ्याम् गूहतिः, 

meaning "The boy hides with his face with hands."

Breakdown of the Phrase

• बाल: (bālaḥ) — "boy" or "child" (nominative singular)

मुखंहस्ताभ्याम् (mukhaṁ-hastābhyām) — compound locative/instrumental 

meaning " face with hands"

मुखं (mukhaṁ) — face

• हस्ताभ्याम् (hastābhyām) — dual instrumental “with the hands” 
• (dual form ending -ābhyām indicates exactly two hands)
• 
  
• गूहति (gūhati) — "hides" or "conceals" (3rd person singular present 
• tense of the root गुह्)

Literal Meaning

The sentence literally describes a scenario where the child hides 

 his face with hands, which could imply covering his face, peeking 

carefully, or hiding himself in an active motion using both face and 

hand gestures.

Notes on Grammar and Usage

• Dual forms: hastābhyām is specifically dual, which emphasizes 
• both hands.
• Sandhi: In classical Sandhi, mukhaṁ + hastābhyām becomes 
• mukhaṁhastābhyām due to the visarga combination in romanized 
• transcription.
• Verb: gūhati aligns with present tense, singular subject bālaḥ.