Shloka 3
Nahuṣa Abhiṣeka and the Crisis of Restraint (नहुषाभिषेकः—दमभ्रंशः)
स तानुवाच नहुषो देवानृषिगणांस्तथा । पितृभि: सहितान् राजन् परीप्सन् हितमात्मन:,ऐसा निश्चय करके वे सब लोग राजा नहुषके पास जाकर बोले--'पृथिवीपते! आप हमारे राजा होइये'--राजन्! तब नहुषने पितरोंसहित उन देवताओं तथा ऋषियोंसे अपने हितकी इच्छासे कहा--
sa tān uvāca nahuṣo devān ṛṣigaṇāṁs tathā | pitṛbhiḥ sahitān rājan parīpsan hitam ātmanaḥ ||
King Nahuṣa addressed them—those gods and the host of seers, together with the Pitṛs. O King, seeking what he believed to be his own welfare, he spoke to them in response to their approach and request that he accept sovereignty.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights motivation as ethically significant: Nahuṣa’s response is explicitly marked as driven by personal advantage (ātmanaḥ hitam). In epic ethics, rulership and speech gain moral weight not only from outcomes but from the intention aligned—or misaligned—with dharma.
Gods, sages, and the Pitṛs approach Nahuṣa and invite him to take the role of king. Nahuṣa then addresses them; the narration emphasizes that he speaks while seeking his own benefit, foreshadowing tension between rightful authority and overreaching ambition.