Shloka 26

Nahūṣa’s Pride, the Ṛṣi-Borne Palanquin, and the Search for Indra (नहुष-इन्द्राणी-प्रकरणम्)

Devanagari script

अधर्मज्ञो महर्षीणां वाहनाच्च ततः शुभे । इष्टिं चाहं करिष्यामि विनाशायास्य दुर्मते:

Transliteration

adharmajño maharṣīṇāṁ vāhanācca tataḥ śubhe | iṣṭiṁ cāhaṁ kariṣyāmi vināśāyāsya durmateḥ ||

Translation

Śalya berkata: “Wahai wanita yang mulia, ia tak mengenal dharma dan bahkan merampas kendaraan para maharṣi. Karena itu aku akan melaksanakan upacara iṣṭi demi kebinasaan orang yang berakal jahat itu.”

Word by Word

अधर्मज्ञःknower of adharma / one who knows unrighteousness

महर्षीणाम्of the great sages

वाहनात्from the vehicle / from the conveyance

चand

ततःthen / thereafter / from that

शुभेO auspicious one

इष्टिम्a sacrifice / rite

चand

अहम्I

करिष्यामिwill do / will perform

विनाशायfor destruction

अस्यof this (man) / his

दुर्मतेःof the evil-minded one

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śalya

mahārṣis (great seers)

vāhana (vehicle/conveyance)

iṣṭi (sacrificial rite)

śubhe (addressed woman, unnamed here)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ethical failure (ignorance of dharma and disrespect toward sages) as a grave offense that invites deliberate counteraction; it also shows how ritual action (iṣṭi) can be conceived as morally charged—used not only for welfare but as a response to wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya addresses an auspicious lady and condemns a certain person as adharma-minded, citing the taking of the great seers’ conveyance as evidence; he then declares his intention to perform an iṣṭi specifically aimed at bringing about that person’s destruction.