Shloka 4
Dhūpa–Dīpa–Bali Phala Praśna; Nahūṣa–Agastya–Bhṛgu Saṃvāda
Incense, Lamp, and Bali Offerings; the Nahūṣa Dialogue
नहुषो हि महाराज राजर्षि: सुमहातपा: । देवराज्यमनुप्राप्त: सुकृतेनेह कर्मणा,महाराज! राजर्षि नहुष बड़े भारी तपस्वी थे। उन्होंने अपने पुण्यकर्मके प्रभावसे देवराज इन्द्रका पद प्राप्त कर लिया था
Nahuṣo hi mahārāja rājarṣiḥ sumahātapāḥ | devarājyam anuprāptaḥ sukṛtenehakarmaṇā, mahārāja ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു— മഹാരാജാവേ! നഹുഷൻ എന്ന രാജർഷി അത്യന്തം മഹാതപസ്വിയായിരുന്നു. ഈ ലോകത്തിൽ ചെയ്ത പുണ്യകർമ്മങ്ങളുടെ പ്രഭാവത്താൽ അവൻ ദേവരാജ്യം—അഥവാ ഇന്ദ്രപദം—പ്രാപിച്ചു।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
High status—even divine sovereignty—is presented as the fruit of tapas and sukṛta (meritorious action). The verse underscores moral causality: disciplined virtue and righteous deeds can elevate one’s station, implying that authority is ideally grounded in dharma rather than mere birth or power.
Bhīṣma begins (or continues) an exemplum about King Nahuṣa. He states that Nahuṣa, a royal sage renowned for austerity, gained the position of Indra through the power of his accumulated merit, setting up a larger moral narrative about conduct and the responsibilities that accompany elevated power.