Shloka 16
नहुषोपाख्यानम्—दीपदान-धूप-बलीकर्म-प्रशंसा
Nahūṣa Episode and the Commendation of Lamp-Gifting and Household Offerings
निमीलय स्वनयने जटां यावद् विशामि ते । स्थाणुभूतस्य तस्याथ जटां प्राविशदच्युत:
nimīlaya svanayane jaṭāṁ yāvad viśāmi te | sthāṇubhūtasya tasyātha jaṭāṁ prāviśad acyutaḥ ||
Bhishma dit : « Sage, ferme un instant les yeux, le temps que j’entre dans tes mèches emmêlées. » Quand le rishi, les yeux clos, demeura immobile comme un pilier, l’homme ferme, fidèle à la règle, entra dans sa chevelure—résolu à faire choir le roi du ciel. À cet instant même, le roi Nahusha, pareil à Indra, s’approcha du rishi, voulant en faire son porteur (celui qui tirerait le char).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power without humility turns into adharma: the king’s desire to use a rishi as a mere bearer signals arrogance, and the narrative frames such overreach as a cause of inevitable downfall, while ascetic restraint and steadfast adherence to propriety remain the ethical ideal.
A sage is asked to close his eyes so another can enter his matted locks; the sage becomes motionless like a pillar. At that moment King Nahusha arrives, intending to make the rishi his vehicle, setting up the conflict that leads to Nahusha’s humiliation and fall.