Shloka 16
Nahūṣa’s Fall Explained: Agastya’s Account to Indra (Śalya-narrated)
वाहान् कृत्वा वाहयसि तेन स्वर्गद्धितप्रभ: । ध्वंस पाप परिश्रष्ट: क्षीणपुण्यो महीतले
vāhān kṛtvā vāhayasi tena svargārddhitaprabhaḥ | dhvaṃsa pāpa pariśraṣṭaḥ kṣīṇapuṇyo mahītale ||
Agastya sprach: „Indem du andere zu Lasttieren machst, treibst du sie an; durch diese Tat scheint dein Glanz nur dem Anschein nach zum Himmel ‘emporgehoben’. Doch wenn die Frucht reift, wirst du stürzen—die Sünde an dir haftend—und, da dein Verdienst erschöpft ist, wirst du auf die Erde hinabgeworfen.“
अगस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Exploitation—treating others as mere instruments or beasts of burden—creates pāpa that eventually overpowers temporary prosperity. Even if one seems to rise (as if toward svarga), when puṇya is spent the person falls, bearing the moral consequence of the harm done.
Agastya delivers a moral warning: the act of forcing others to carry burdens and driving them is condemned. He frames the outcome in karmic terms—apparent elevation followed by downfall—highlighting that unethical gain cannot secure lasting honor or heavenly reward.