Shloka 13
Adhyāya 12: Devas’ Petition to Nahūṣa; Bṛhaspati on Śaraṇāgata-Dharma; Indrāṇī’s Strategic Delay
इन्द्राद् विशिष्टो नहुषो देवराजो महाद्युति: । वृणोत्त्मं वरारोहा भर्तृत्वे वरवर्णिनी
indrād viśiṣṭo nahuṣo devarājo mahādyutiḥ | vṛṇotu tvāṃ varārohā bhartṛtve varavarṇinī ||
Śalya said: “Nahuṣa, radiant with great splendor, is now the king of the gods and surpasses even Indra. Therefore, O fair-limbed Śacī of lovely complexion, accept him as your husband.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how worldly power and status can be used to pressure personal choice; it implicitly raises an ethical tension between authority and rightful consent, foreshadowing the dangers of pride and coercion even when someone appears ‘greater’ by position.
Śalya reports (or frames) the situation that Nahuṣa has become devarāja in Indra’s place and urges Śacī to accept Nahuṣa as her husband, presenting Nahuṣa’s elevated status and splendor as the justification.