Shloka 23

Nahuṣa Abhiṣeka and the Crisis of Restraint (नहुषाभिषेकः—दमभ्रंशः)

Devanagari script

गए हु जज्क्ज्खट गण ै हि! हा ८2 252 ८ ६ / हि | 6) |] हे ४ ८८८ / | ६] रह ५00 /$ ॥ बृहस्पतिरथोवाच शक्राणीं भयमोहिताम्‌

Transliteration

bṛhaspatir uvāca—śakrāṇīṃ bhaya-mohitām etad āha: devi, mayā yat tvayi proktaṃ tat sarvam avaśyaṃ satyaṃ bhaviṣyati. tvaṃ śīghram eva devarājam indram iha āgataṃ drakṣyasi. nahuṣāt te bhayaṃ na kartavyam. satyaṃ bravīmi—alpair eva ahobhir tvāṃ indreṇa saha saṃyojayiṣyāmi.

Translation

Bṛhaspati said to Śakrāṇī, shaken by fear and confusion: “Goddess, everything I have told you will certainly prove true. Very soon you will see the king of the gods, Indra, returned here. You should not be afraid of Nahuṣa. I speak the truth: within only a few days I will reunite you with Indra.”

Word by Word

• बृहस्पतिः: Bṛhaspati
• बृहस्पतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बृहस्पति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said/spoke
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• शक्राणीम्: to Śakrāṇī (Indrāṇī)
• शक्राणीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्राणी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• भय-मोहिताम्: deluded/overcome by fear
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मोहित
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bṛhaspati
• Śakrāṇī (Indrāṇī)
• Indra
• Nahuṣa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage emphasizes satya (truthfulness) and steadiness in fear: wise counsel grounded in truth restores courage, and one should not be ruled by panic when dharmic order is being re-established.

What is happening in the narrative?

Indrāṇī, distressed and frightened because of Nahuṣa’s ascendancy, is consoled by Bṛhaspati. He assures her that Indra will soon return and that she will be reunited with him, so she should not fear Nahuṣa.