Shloka 29

अग्निस्तुति, इन्द्रदर्शन, नहुष-भयवर्णन

Agni-hymn, discovery of Indra, and the Nahuṣa threat

Devanagari script

स तान्‌ यथावच्च हि लोकपालान्‌ समेत्य वै प्रीतमना महेन्द्र: । उवाच चैनान्‌ प्रतिभाष्य शक्रः संचोदयिष्यन्नहुषस्यान्तरेण

Transliteration

sa tān yathāvac ca hi lokapālān sametya vai prītamanā mahendraḥ | uvāca cainān pratibhāṣya śakraḥ sañcodayiṣyann ahuṣasyāntareṇa ||

Translation

Tras reunirse con los Lokapālas de manera debida y conforme al rito, el corazón de Mahendra se colmó de satisfacción. Entonces Śakra (Indra) se dirigió a ellos, hablando con la intención de impulsar un plan que sembrara confusión en el interior del rey Nahuṣa, para que la mente de Nahuṣa se volviera desde dentro contra el recto juicio.

Word by Word

• {'saḥ': 'he', 'tān': 'those (them)', 'yathāvat': 'properly, according to rule and propriety', 'hi': 'indeed', 'lokapālān': 'guardians of the worlds

• cosmic regents', 'sametya': 'having met/assembled with', 'vai': 'indeed, certainly (emphatic particle)', 'prītamanāḥ': 'with pleased mind

• delighted at heart', 'mahendraḥ': 'Mahendra

• Indra, lord of the gods', 'uvāca': 'said, spoke', 'ca': 'and', 'enān': 'these (them)', 'pratibhāṣya': 'addressing in reply

• speaking to directly', 'śakraḥ': 'Śakra

• Indra', 'sañcodayiṣyan': 'intending to incite/urge

• about to prompt', 'ahuṣasya': 'of Nahuṣa', 'antareṇa': 'from within

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mahendra (Indra)
• Śakra (Indra)
• Lokapālas
• King Nahuṣa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power and authority must remain aligned with dharma; when pride or illegitimate ambition rises (as with Nahuṣa), it becomes vulnerable to inner confusion and self-caused downfall. The verse highlights how ethical order is protected not only by force but also by counsel and the redirection of a wrong-minded ruler’s intentions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Indra (Mahendra/Śakra) meets the Lokapālas properly and is pleased. He then speaks to them with a strategic purpose: to set in motion a course that will create a disruptive change within King Nahuṣa’s mind—an internal turning that will undermine Nahuṣa’s judgment.