Shloka 4
Dhūpa–Dīpa–Bali Phala Praśna; Nahūṣa–Agastya–Bhṛgu Saṃvāda
Incense, Lamp, and Bali Offerings; the Nahūṣa Dialogue
नहुषो हि महाराज राजर्षि: सुमहातपा: । देवराज्यमनुप्राप्त: सुकृतेनेह कर्मणा,महाराज! राजर्षि नहुष बड़े भारी तपस्वी थे। उन्होंने अपने पुण्यकर्मके प्रभावसे देवराज इन्द्रका पद प्राप्त कर लिया था
Nahuṣo hi mahārāja rājarṣiḥ sumahātapāḥ | devarājyam anuprāptaḥ sukṛtenehakarmaṇā, mahārāja ||
Bhīṣma said: “O great king, the royal sage Nahuṣa was a man of exceedingly great austerity. By the merit of his righteous deeds performed here (in this world), he attained the sovereignty of the gods—the very station of Indra.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
High status—even divine sovereignty—is presented as the fruit of tapas and sukṛta (meritorious action). The verse underscores moral causality: disciplined virtue and righteous deeds can elevate one’s station, implying that authority is ideally grounded in dharma rather than mere birth or power.
Bhīṣma begins (or continues) an exemplum about King Nahuṣa. He states that Nahuṣa, a royal sage renowned for austerity, gained the position of Indra through the power of his accumulated merit, setting up a larger moral narrative about conduct and the responsibilities that accompany elevated power.