Shloka 7

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

Devanagari script

देवदानवयक्षाणामृषीणां रक्षसां तथा । पितृगन्धर्वभूतानां चक्षुविषयवर्तिनाम्‌

Transliteration

devadānavayakṣāṇām ṛṣīṇāṁ rakṣasāṁ tathā | pitṛgandharvabhūtānāṁ cakṣuviṣayavartinām ||

Translation

Śalya said: “Of the gods, Dānavas, Yakṣas, Ṛṣis, Rākṣasas, Pitṛs, Gandharvas, and Bhūtas—of all who come within the range of your sight—upon merely seeing them you will draw away their radiance and become mighty. Therefore, keeping dharma always before you, become the lord of all the worlds.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'देव (deva)', 'definition': 'god

• celestial being'}, {'term': 'दानव (dānava)', 'definition': 'demon of the Danu lineage

• powerful anti-god being'}, {'term': 'यक्ष (yakṣa)', 'definition': 'nature-spirit

• guardian being associated with wealth and hidden realms'}, {'term': 'ऋषि (ṛṣi)', 'definition': 'seer

• inspired sage'}, {'term': 'रक्षस् / राक्षस (rakṣas / rākṣasa)', 'definition': 'demonic being

• night-roaming adversary'}, {'term': 'पितृ (pitṛ)', 'definition': 'ancestral spirit

• forefather in the other world'}, {'term': 'गन्धर्व (gandharva)', 'definition': 'celestial musician

• heavenly being'}, {'term': 'भूत (bhūta)', 'definition': 'spirit-being

• elemental/ghostly entity'}, {'term': 'चक्षु (cakṣu)', 'definition': 'eye

• sight'}, {'term': 'विषय (viṣaya)', 'definition': 'object or range of perception

• sphere of sense-contact'}, {'term': 'वर्तिन् (vartin)', 'definition': 'abiding in

• being situated in'}, {'term': 'तेजस् (tejas)', 'definition': 'radiance

• spiritual and martial potency'}, {'term': 'धर्म (dharma)', 'definition': 'righteous order

• ethical law'}, {'term': 'अधिपति (adhipati)', 'definition': 'lord

• ruler'}, {'term': 'लोक (loka)', 'definition': 'world

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śalya
• Devas
• Dānavas
• Yakṣas
• Ṛṣis
• Rākṣasas
• Pitṛs
• Gandharvas
• Bhūtas
• all worlds (lokas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when speaking of extraordinary power, Śalya frames rightful rule as dependent on dharma: sovereignty is legitimate only when ethical order is kept foremost, not merely when one possesses strength or splendor.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya is offering counsel and encouragement, describing a formidable, almost cosmic potency—gaining strength by absorbing the radiance of any being within one’s sight—and then urging the addressee to rule the worlds with dharma as the guiding principle.