Shloka 3

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

Devanagari script

गुहां चैतत्‌ त्वया कार्य नाख्यातव्यं शुभे क्वचित्‌ | गत्वा नहुषमेकान्ते ब्रवीहि च सुमध्यमे,'शुभे! तुम्हें गुप्तरूपसे यह कार्य करना है। कहीं (भी इसे) प्रकट न करना। सुमध्यमे! तुम एकान्तमें नहुषके पास जाकर कहो--जगत्पते! आप दिव्य ऋषियानपर बैठकर मेरे पास आइये। ऐसा होनेपर मैं प्रसन्नतापूर्वक आपके वशमें हो जाऊँगी”

Transliteration

guhāṁ caitat tvayā kāryaṁ nākhyātavyaṁ śubhe kvacit | gatvā nahuṣam ekānte brūhi ca sumadhyame |

Translation

Śalya mengarahkan: “Wahai wanita yang membawa tuah, pekerjaan ini mesti engkau lakukan secara rahsia; jangan engkau dedahkan di mana-mana. Wahai yang berpinggang ramping, pergilah menemui Nahuṣa secara bersendirian dan katakan: ‘Wahai Penguasa dunia, datanglah kepadaku dengan menaiki para ṛṣi yang suci sebagai wahana. Jika demikian, aku akan dengan rela hati berada di bawah kuasamu.’”

Word by Word

• {'guhām (guhā)': 'secretly

• in concealment', 'etat': 'this (matter/plan)', 'tvayā': 'by you', 'kāryam': 'to be done

• a task to be carried out', 'na ākhyātavyam': 'not to be told

• not to be disclosed', 'śubhe': 'O auspicious one (vocative address to a woman)', 'kvacit': 'anywhere

• at any time', 'gatvā': 'having gone', 'nahuṣam': 'to Nahuṣa (accusative)', 'ekānte': 'in private

• in seclusion', 'brūhi': 'say

• tell', 'ca': 'and', 'sumadhyame': 'O slender-waisted one (vocative

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śalya
• Nahuṣa
• divine ṛṣis (sages)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how secrecy and carefully crafted speech can be used to shape outcomes—raising an ethical question: strategic success may rely on concealment and manipulation, which can conflict with ideals of straightforward dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya gives covert instructions to a woman: she must keep the plan hidden and privately approach Nahuṣa with a specific invitation, promising that once the message is delivered and acted upon, she will submit willingly to his control.