Shloka 25
Dhūpa–Dīpa–Bali Phala Praśna; Nahūṣa–Agastya–Bhṛgu Saṃvāda
Incense, Lamp, and Bali Offerings; the Nahūṣa Dialogue
अद्य चासौ कुदेवेन्द्रस्त्वां पदा धर्षयिष्यति । दैवोपहतचित्तत्वादात्मनाशाय मन्दधी:
adya cāsau kudevendras tvāṃ padā dharṣayiṣyati | daivopahatacittatvād ātmanāśāya mandadhīḥ ||
“Dan hari ini juga, si ‘Indra’ yang hina itu—Indra hanya pada nama—akan menghina dirimu dengan menendangmu. Karena batinnya telah dipukul oleh takdir; tumpul budi, ia sedang melaju menuju kebinasaannya sendiri.”
अगस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arrogance and misuse of power lead to ethical collapse: when one becomes ‘Indra’ only in name and violates the dignity of the righteous, that very adharma becomes the cause of one’s downfall. The verse also highlights how a mind clouded (whether by fate, delusion, or moral blindness) rushes toward self-destruction.
Agastya warns that the unworthy ruler occupying Indra’s position—Nahusha in the surrounding episode—will, driven by a fate-stricken and deluded mind, commit a grave insult by striking the addressed person with his foot, an act that precipitates his ruin.