Shloka 17
नहुषोपाख्यानम्—दीपदान-धूप-बलीकर्म-प्रशंसा
Nahūṣa Episode and the Commendation of Lamp-Gifting and Household Offerings
भगुः स सुमहातेजा: पातनाय नृपस्य च । ततः स देवराट प्राप्तस्तमृषिं वाहनाय वै
bhṛguḥ sa sumahātejāḥ pātanāya nṛpasya ca | tataḥ sa devarāṭ prāptas tam ṛṣiṁ vāhanāya vai | “mune! āpāṁ nayanāni mūṁda len, ahaṁ tava jaṭāsu praviśāmi” iti | maharṣir agastyo nayanāni mūṁditvā kāṣṭhavat sthiro ’bhavat | svamaryādācyuto na bhūtvā mahātejā bhṛgur agastyasya jaṭāsu praviśya rājānaṁ svargād avapātayitum ārabdhavān | etasminn eva kāle devarājo nahuṣo ’pi tam ṛṣiṁ vāhanaṁ kartum upacakrame |
ビーシュマは語った。王を墜とさんとする大心にして赫々たるブリグは、ついに事を起こした。まさにその時、諸天の主にも似た王ナフシャが、そのリシを自らの担い手とせんがため近づいた。ブリグは言った。「聖者よ、眼を閉じよ。わたしは汝の結髪に入る。」大聖アガスティヤは眼を閉じ、木片のごとく不動に立った。礼を越えぬまま、威力あるブリグは、王を天より落とすためアガスティヤの結髪に入り、そしてその折にナフシャが到来して、リシを車の牽き手として使役せんとした—それは王の驕慢の膨張と、ダルマからの転落が迫る徴であった。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and status must remain within maryādā (ethical bounds). When a ruler’s pride leads him to disrespect sages and treat them as instruments, he undermines dharma and invites a fall—often enacted through the moral force (tapas) of the ṛṣis.
Bhrigu, using ascetic potency, enters Agastya’s matted locks to bring down a king from heaven. At the same moment, Nahusha—acting as lord of the gods—approaches Agastya intending to make the sage his bearer, setting up the confrontation where Nahusha’s overreach becomes the cause of his downfall.