Shloka 17
नहुषोपाख्यानम्—दीपदान-धूप-बलीकर्म-प्रशंसा
Nahūṣa Episode and the Commendation of Lamp-Gifting and Household Offerings
भगुः स सुमहातेजा: पातनाय नृपस्य च । ततः स देवराट प्राप्तस्तमृषिं वाहनाय वै
bhṛguḥ sa sumahātejāḥ pātanāya nṛpasya ca | tataḥ sa devarāṭ prāptas tam ṛṣiṁ vāhanāya vai | “mune! āpāṁ nayanāni mūṁda len, ahaṁ tava jaṭāsu praviśāmi” iti | maharṣir agastyo nayanāni mūṁditvā kāṣṭhavat sthiro ’bhavat | svamaryādācyuto na bhūtvā mahātejā bhṛgur agastyasya jaṭāsu praviśya rājānaṁ svargād avapātayitum ārabdhavān | etasminn eva kāle devarājo nahuṣo ’pi tam ṛṣiṁ vāhanaṁ kartum upacakrame |
Bhishma sprach: Der großherzige, überaus strahlende Bhṛgu, entschlossen, den König zu stürzen, schritt zur Tat. Zur selben Zeit nahte König Nahusha, wie ein Herr der Götter, jenem Rishi, um ihn zu seinem Träger zu machen. Bhṛgu sprach: „Weiser, schließe die Augen; ich werde in deine verfilzten Locken eingehen.“ Der große Seher Agastya schloss die Augen und stand reglos wie Holz. Ohne die Grenzen des Schicklichen zu überschreiten, trat der mächtige Bhṛgu in Agastyas Haar ein, um den König vom Himmel herabzuwerfen; und eben da kam Nahusha, um den Rishi zum Zugtier seines Wagens zu zwingen—ein Zeichen anschwellenden Hochmuts und des nahen Falls aus dem Dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and status must remain within maryādā (ethical bounds). When a ruler’s pride leads him to disrespect sages and treat them as instruments, he undermines dharma and invites a fall—often enacted through the moral force (tapas) of the ṛṣis.
Bhrigu, using ascetic potency, enters Agastya’s matted locks to bring down a king from heaven. At the same moment, Nahusha—acting as lord of the gods—approaches Agastya intending to make the sage his bearer, setting up the confrontation where Nahusha’s overreach becomes the cause of his downfall.