Shloka 12
Cyavana’s Yogic Display and Kuśika’s Recognition of Tapas (च्यवन-योगप्रभावः कुशिकस्य तपःप्रशंसा च)
नहुष उवाच अर्ध राज्यं समग्रं वा निषादेभ्य: प्रदीयताम् | एतन्मूल्यमहं मन्ये कि वान्यन्मन्यसे द्विज
Nahuṣa uvāca: ardha-rājyaṃ samagraṃ vā niṣādebhyaḥ pradīyatām | etan-mūlyam ahaṃ manye kiṃ vā anyan manyase dvija ||
Nahuṣa said: “Let half my kingdom—or even the whole of it—be given to the Niṣādas. I consider this to be the proper price for you. What else, O twice-born, do you think should be asked?”
नहुष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a king’s readiness to compensate or make amends with extraordinary generosity—up to surrendering sovereignty—while also raising an ethical question about what constitutes a ‘proper price’ (mūlya) in matters involving dharma and human worth.
Nahuṣa addresses a Brahmin and proposes that half or all of his kingdom be granted to the Niṣādas, presenting this as the appropriate recompense, and then asks what additional demand the Brahmin considers necessary.