Shloka 22
Nahuṣa Abhiṣeka and the Crisis of Restraint (नहुषाभिषेकः—दमभ्रंशः)
उक्तवानसि मां पूर्वमृतां तां कुरु वै गिरम् । नोक्तपूर्व च भगवन् वृथा ते किंचिदीश्वर
uktavān asi māṃ pūrvam ṛtāṃ tāṃ kuru vai giram | noktapūrva ca bhagavan vṛthā te kiṃcid īśvara ||
Śalya said: “You spoke to me before; therefore make your words true and fulfill that earlier promise. And, O venerable lord, speak nothing unprecedented or baseless—let none of your speech be in vain, O ruler.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses satya (truthfulness) and the ethical duty to honor one’s prior word: a ruler’s speech should not be empty or self-contradictory, because promises create moral obligations and social trust.
Śalya addresses a powerful figure with reverence, reminding him of an earlier statement or promise and urging him to make it come true, while warning against uttering words that would prove futile or unreliable.