Shloka 7
Nahūṣa’s Fall Explained: Agastya’s Account to Indra (Śalya-narrated)
शल्य कहते हैं--युधिष्ठिर! मुनिश्रेष्ठ अगस्त्य जब पूजा ग्रहण करके आसनपर विराजमान हुए, उस समय देवेश्वर इन्द्रने अत्यन्त प्रसन्न होकर उन विप्रशिरोमणिसे पूछा --“भगवन! द्विजश्रेष्ठस मैं आपके शब्दोंमें यह सुनना चाहता हूँ कि पापपूर्ण विचार रखनेवाला नहुष स्वर्गसे किस प्रकार भ्रष्ट हुआ है?” ।।
śalya uvāca—yudhiṣṭhira! muniśreṣṭho 'gastyas tadā pūjāṃ gṛhītvāsane niṣaṇṇaḥ. atha deveśvara indraḥ paramaprasannaḥ san vipraśiromaṇim apṛcchat—“bhagavan! dvijaśreṣṭha, tava vākyebhyaḥ śrotum icchāmi: pāpapūrṇavicāro nahuṣaḥ kathaṃ svargād bhraṣṭaḥ?”
agastya uvāca—“śṛṇu śakra priyaṃ vākyaṃ yathā rājā durātmavān | svargād bhraṣṭo durācāro nahuṣo baladarpitaḥ ||”
Śalya said: “Yudhiṣṭhira, when the foremost sage Agastya had accepted the worship and taken his seat, Indra—the lord of the gods—became exceedingly pleased and asked that crest-jewel among Brahmins: ‘Revered sir, best of the twice-born, I wish to hear from your own words: how did Nahusha, whose thoughts were steeped in sin, fall away from heaven?’ Agastya replied: ‘O Śakra, hear this pleasing account—how the evil-souled king Nahusha, a man of corrupt conduct, intoxicated by the pride of power, was cast down from heaven.’
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power without self-restraint breeds arrogance (bala-darpa), and arrogance corrodes conduct (durācāra), leading to downfall even from the highest station (svarga). The verse frames a moral causality: inner sinful intention (pāpapūrṇa-vicāra) precedes external collapse.
Śalya recounts to Yudhiṣṭhira a framed story: after Agastya is honored and seated, Indra respectfully asks him to explain how Nahusha fell from heaven. Agastya begins his answer, announcing he will tell the account of Nahusha’s fall caused by pride in power.