Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 226
नहुषोपाख्यानम्—दीपदान-धूप-बलीकर्म-प्रशंसा
Nahūṣa Episode and the Commendation of Lamp-Gifting and Household Offerings
अगस्त्यस्य तदा क्रुद्धो वामेनाभ्यहनच्छिर: । भारत! राजा नहुषने चाबुक मारकर हाँकना आरम्भ किया तो भी उन धर्मात्मा मुनिको क्रोध नहीं आया। तब कुपित हुए देवराजने महात्मा अगस्त्यके सिरपर बायें पैरसे प्रहार किया
agastyasya tadā kruddho vāmenābhyahanac chiraḥ | bhārata! rājā nahuṣaḥ (munīn) cābukam āhatya hāṅkituṃ pravṛttaḥ api te dharmātmānaḥ munayaḥ na kupitāḥ | tataḥ kupito devarājaḥ mahātmanaḥ agastyasya śirasi vāmena pādena prāharat |
Bhīṣma dit : Alors, saisi de colère, il frappa Agastya à la tête de son pied gauche. Ô descendant de Bharata ! Lorsque le roi Nahusha se mit à pousser les sages vertueux en les cinglant d’un fouet, ces saints hommes ne s’irritèrent point. Mais le seigneur des dieux, provoqué, porta un coup de son pied gauche sur la tête du magnanime Agastya.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and status do not excuse violations of dharma: anger and pride can lead even a ruler or a god-king to commit grave disrespect toward sages, inviting moral and karmic downfall. The sages’ restraint contrasts with the aggressor’s loss of self-control.
In the episode connected with Nahusha’s arrogance, the sages are treated like beasts of burden and driven with a whip. Though the sages remain unangered, the devarāja (Indra, in this telling) becomes enraged and strikes the sage Agastya on the head with his left foot, an act of extreme insult that signals adharma and precipitates consequences in the larger story.