Shloka 18

नहुषोपाख्यानम्—दीपदान-धूप-बलीकर्म-प्रशंसा

Nahūṣa Episode and the Commendation of Lamp-Gifting and Household Offerings

Devanagari script

ततोडगस्त्य: सुरपतिं वाक्यमाह विशाम्पते | योजयस्वेति मां क्षिप्रं कं च देशं वहामि ते

Transliteration

tato ’gastyaḥ surapatiṁ vākyam āha viśāmpate | yojayasveti māṁ kṣipraṁ kaṁ ca deśaṁ vahāmi te prajānātha ||

Translation

Then Agastya addressed the lord of the gods, saying: “O ruler of men, protector of subjects, yoke me quickly to the chariot and tell me to what place I should carry you. O sovereign of the gods, wherever you command, there I shall convey you.” Upon hearing this, Nahusha yoked the sage to the chariot.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya

• अगस्त्यः: Agastya (the sage)
• अगस्त्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अगस्त्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सुरपतिम्: the lord of the gods (Indra)
• सुरपतिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरपति
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वाक्यम्: speech, words
• वाक्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आह: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: अह् (ब्रू/अह् = to say)
• Form: Perfect, 3rd person, Singular

• विशाम्: of the people/subjects
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• पते: O lord
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• योजयस्व: yoke (me), harness (me)
• Type: Verb
• Root: युज् (योजयति)
• Form: Imperative, 2nd person, Singular, Parasmaipada, Causative

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति
• Form: Avyaya

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Accusative, Singular

• क्षिप्रम्: quickly
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षिप्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular (used adverbially)

• कम्: which?
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: Avyaya

• देशम्: place, region
• देशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वहामि: I carry, I convey
• Type: Verb
• Root: वह्
• Form: Present, 1st person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ते: to you, for you
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Dative, Singular

• प्रजानाथ: O lord of creatures/subjects
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजानाथ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Surapati (Indra)
• Nahusha
• chariot

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power without humility turns into adharma: when a ruler treats a sage as a beast of burden, it signals moral blindness and invites downfall. Reverence for the righteous (ṛṣi) is a safeguard of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Agastya speaks to the lord of the gods and, in the episode’s dramatic reversal, offers to be yoked and to carry him wherever commanded; in the surrounding narrative, Nahusha—intoxicated by authority—actually yokes the sage to the chariot, setting the stage for his curse and fall.