Shloka 33
Nahūṣa’s Pride, the Ṛṣi-Borne Palanquin, and the Search for Indra (नहुष-इन्द्राणी-प्रकरणम्)
अग्निरवाच नाप: प्रवेष्ठुं शक्ष्यामि क्षयो मे5त्र भविष्यति । शरणं त्वां प्रपन्नो5स्मि स्वस्ति ते5स्तु महाद्युते
agnir uvāca nāpaḥ praveṣṭuṁ śakṣyāmi kṣayo me ’tra bhaviṣyati | śaraṇaṁ tvāṁ prapanno ’smi svasti te ’stu mahādyute ||
Agni said: “I cannot enter the waters; my destruction would occur there. I have come to you for refuge. May well-being be yours, O greatly radiant one.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a powerful being acknowledges limits and seeks rightful protection; taking refuge (śaraṇa) and offering auspicious goodwill (svasti) are presented as ethically proper responses in danger rather than reckless self-destruction.
Agni speaks, declaring that entering the waters would cause his ruin; therefore he approaches another as a protector, formally surrendering for refuge and concluding with a blessing to the radiant addressee.