Shloka 22
Adhyāya 12: Devas’ Petition to Nahūṣa; Bṛhaspati on Śaraṇāgata-Dharma; Indrāṇī’s Strategic Delay
एतदेवं विजानन् वै न दास्यामि शचीमिमाम् | इन्द्राणीं विश्रुतां लोके शक्रस्य महिषीं प्रियाम्
etadevaṁ vijānan vai na dāsyāmi śacīm imām | indrāṇīṁ viśrutāṁ loke śakrasya mahiṣīṁ priyām |
Knowing this for certain—that abandoning one who has sought refuge leads to adharma—I will not hand over this Śacī. She is Indrāṇī, renowned throughout the world, the beloved chief queen of Śakra (Indra); therefore I will not give her into Nahūṣa’s possession.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a dharmic absolute: abandoning or betraying one who has sought refuge is adharma. Ethical duty overrides fear or expediency; the speaker refuses to surrender a protected person, especially a renowned and rightful queen, to an unworthy claimant.
Śalya declares that, fully aware of the moral fault in giving up a refugee, he will not hand over Śacī—Indra’s famed queen (Indrāṇī)—to Nahūṣa. The statement frames his decision as a principled refusal grounded in dharma.