Shloka 13

Adhyāya 12: Devas’ Petition to Nahūṣa; Bṛhaspati on Śaraṇāgata-Dharma; Indrāṇī’s Strategic Delay

Devanagari script

इन्द्राद्‌ विशिष्टो नहुषो देवराजो महाद्युति: । वृणोत्त्मं वरारोहा भर्तृत्वे वरवर्णिनी,“इस समय महातेजस्वी नहुष देवताओंके राजा हैं। अतः इन्द्रसे बढ़कर हैं। सुन्दर रूप- रंगवाली शची इन्हें अपना पति स्वीकार कर लें”

Transliteration

indrād viśiṣṭo nahuṣo devarājo mahādyutiḥ | vṛṇotu tvāṃ varārohā bhartṛtve varavarṇinī ||

Translation

Śalya sprach: „Nahuṣa, von großem Glanz umstrahlt, ist nun der König der Götter und übertrifft selbst Indra. Darum, o Śacī, schön an Gliedern und von lieblicher Farbe, nimm ihn zum Gemahl an.“

Word by Word

इन्द्रात्from/than Indra

विशिष्टःsuperior, distinguished

नहुषःNahusha

देवराजःking of the gods

महाद्युतिःof great splendor

वृणोतुlet (her) choose/accept

उत्तमम्the best (one)

वरारोहाthe fair-thighed woman (Shachi)

भर्तृत्वेas (her) husband / in the role of husband

वरवर्णिनीthe fair-complexioned woman (Shachi)

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śalya

Nahuṣa

Indra

Śacī

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how worldly power and status can be used to pressure personal choice; it implicitly raises an ethical tension between authority and rightful consent, foreshadowing the dangers of pride and coercion even when someone appears ‘greater’ by position.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya reports (or frames) the situation that Nahuṣa has become devarāja in Indra’s place and urges Śacī to accept Nahuṣa as her husband, presenting Nahuṣa’s elevated status and splendor as the justification.