Shloka 22
Adhyāya 12: Devas’ Petition to Nahūṣa; Bṛhaspati on Śaraṇāgata-Dharma; Indrāṇī’s Strategic Delay
एतदेवं विजानन् वै न दास्यामि शचीमिमाम् | इन्द्राणीं विश्रुतां लोके शक्रस्य महिषीं प्रियाम्
etadevaṁ vijānan vai na dāsyāmi śacīm imām | indrāṇīṁ viśrutāṁ loke śakrasya mahiṣīṁ priyām |
शरणागताचा त्याग केल्याने अधर्म होतो—हे मी निश्चयाने जाणतो. म्हणून जी सर्व लोकांत इंद्राणी, शक्राची प्रिय पटराणी म्हणून विख्यात आहे, त्या शचीदेवीला मी नहुषाच्या हाती देणार नाही.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a dharmic absolute: abandoning or betraying one who has sought refuge is adharma. Ethical duty overrides fear or expediency; the speaker refuses to surrender a protected person, especially a renowned and rightful queen, to an unworthy claimant.
Śalya declares that, fully aware of the moral fault in giving up a refugee, he will not hand over Śacī—Indra’s famed queen (Indrāṇī)—to Nahūṣa. The statement frames his decision as a principled refusal grounded in dharma.