Shloka 18
नहुषोपाख्यानम्—दीपदान-धूप-बलीकर्म-प्रशंसा
Nahūṣa Episode and the Commendation of Lamp-Gifting and Household Offerings
ततोडगस्त्य: सुरपतिं वाक्यमाह विशाम्पते | योजयस्वेति मां क्षिप्रं कं च देशं वहामि ते
tato ’gastyaḥ surapatiṁ vākyam āha viśāmpate | yojayasveti māṁ kṣipraṁ kaṁ ca deśaṁ vahāmi te prajānātha ||
Alors Agastya s’adressa au seigneur des dieux en ces termes : « Ô maître des hommes, protecteur des sujets, attelle-moi vite au char et dis-moi vers quel lieu je dois te porter. Ô souverain des dieux, où que tu l’ordonnes, là je te conduirai. » À ces mots, Nahusha attela le sage au char.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power without humility turns into adharma: when a ruler treats a sage as a beast of burden, it signals moral blindness and invites downfall. Reverence for the righteous (ṛṣi) is a safeguard of dharma.
Agastya speaks to the lord of the gods and, in the episode’s dramatic reversal, offers to be yoked and to carry him wherever commanded; in the surrounding narrative, Nahusha—intoxicated by authority—actually yokes the sage to the chariot, setting the stage for his curse and fall.