Shloka 183
Nahuṣa Abhiṣeka and the Crisis of Restraint (नहुषाभिषेकः—दमभ्रंशः)
आगच्छतु शची महां क्षिप्रमद्य निवेशनम् । उन्हें देखकर दुष्टात्मा नहुषने समस्त सभासदोंसे कहा--“इन्द्रकी महारानी शची मेरी सेवामें क्यों नहीं उपस्थित होतीं? मैं देवताओंका इन्द्र हूँ और सम्पूर्ण लोकोंका अधीदश्वर हूँ। अतः शचीदेवी आज मेरे महलमें शीघ्र पधारें!
āgacchatu śacī mahāṃ kṣipram adya niveśanam | tāṃ dṛṣṭvā duṣṭātmā nahuṣaḥ samasta-sabhāsadān uvāca— “indrasya mahādevī śacī mama sevāyāṃ kuto na upatiṣṭhate? ahaṃ devānām indraḥ asmi, sarva-lokānām adhīśvaraś ca; ataḥ śacīdevī adya mama mahale kṣipraṃ prapadyatām.”
“Let Śacī come quickly today to my residence.” Seeing her, the wicked-minded Nahuṣa addressed all the assembled courtiers: “Why does Śacī, the queen of Indra, not present herself in my service? I am the Indra of the gods and the sovereign of all worlds. Therefore let the goddess Śacī come swiftly today to my palace.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how arrogance and illegitimate self-exaltation lead to adharma: when someone claims supreme authority without rightful grounding, it often manifests as coercion—here, demanding a revered woman’s attendance as ‘service.’ It warns that power divorced from restraint and righteousness becomes moral corruption.
A speaker recounts the episode of Nahuṣa, who, having assumed Indra’s position in a famous legend, orders that Śacī be brought quickly to his residence and publicly questions why she does not attend him. He proclaims himself Indra and lord of all worlds, revealing his overreach and unethical intent.