Shloka 16
नहुषोपाख्यानम्—दीपदान-धूप-बलीकर्म-प्रशंसा
Nahūṣa Episode and the Commendation of Lamp-Gifting and Household Offerings
निमीलय स्वनयने जटां यावद् विशामि ते । स्थाणुभूतस्य तस्याथ जटां प्राविशदच्युत:
nimīlaya svanayane jaṭāṁ yāvad viśāmi te | sthāṇubhūtasya tasyātha jaṭāṁ prāviśad acyutaḥ ||
Bhishma sprach: „Weiser, schließe für einen Augenblick die Augen, bis ich in deine verfilzten Locken eingehe.“ Als der Rishi, die Augen geschlossen, reglos wie eine Säule stand, trat der Standhafte, der die Schranken des Anstands nicht überschreitet, in sein Haar ein—entschlossen, den König vom Himmel herabzustürzen. Da nahte zugleich König Nahusha, Indra gleich, dem Rishi, um ihn zu seinem Träger zu machen, zum Zugtier seines Wagens.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power without humility turns into adharma: the king’s desire to use a rishi as a mere bearer signals arrogance, and the narrative frames such overreach as a cause of inevitable downfall, while ascetic restraint and steadfast adherence to propriety remain the ethical ideal.
A sage is asked to close his eyes so another can enter his matted locks; the sage becomes motionless like a pillar. At that moment King Nahusha arrives, intending to make the rishi his vehicle, setting up the conflict that leads to Nahusha’s humiliation and fall.