Shloka 50
Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
अथेन्द्राणीमभ्यागतां दृष्टयवा तामुवाच नहुषः पूर्ण. स काल इति त॑ शच्यब्रवीच्छक्रेण यथोक्तं स महर्षियुक्तं वाहनमधिरूढ: शचीसमीपमुपागच्छत्
atha indrāṇīm abhyāgatāṁ dṛṣṭvā tāṁ uvāca nahuṣaḥ—pūrṇaḥ sa kāla iti. tataḥ śacī śakreṇa yathoktaṁ sarvāḥ kathāḥ kathayām āsa. nahuṣaḥ maharṣi-yuktena vāhanena adhirūḍhaḥ śacī-samīpam upāgacchat.
When Indra’s queen Śacī arrived, Nahuṣa saw her and declared, “The time you asked for is now complete.” Śacī then repeated to him everything exactly as Indra had instructed. Thereupon Nahuṣa mounted the conveyance yoked with great sages and proceeded toward Śacī. The episode underscores how power, when mixed with impatience and entitlement, can turn into coercion, while Śacī’s careful adherence to Indra’s counsel reflects prudence and strategic fidelity to dharma under threat.
तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical danger of unchecked authority: Nahuṣa treats a promised ‘time’ as a license to press his claim, while Śacī’s careful reporting of Indra’s instructions models prudent, dharma-aligned conduct under pressure. It foreshadows that arrogance and coercive intent invite downfall.
Śacī arrives before Nahuṣa; he asserts that the allotted time has ended. Śacī then conveys to him what Indra had told her to say. Nahuṣa, riding a vehicle yoked with great sages, advances toward Śacī—setting up the next turn of events in which his pride and impropriety will be exposed.