Shloka 4
Nahūṣa’s Pride, the Ṛṣi-Borne Palanquin, and the Search for Indra (नहुष-इन्द्राणी-प्रकरणम्)
ऋषियानेन दिव्येन मामुपैहि जगत्पते । एवं तव वशे प्रीता भविष्यामीति तं॑ वद
ṛṣiyānena divyena mām upaihi jagatpate | evaṁ tava vaśe prītā bhaviṣyāmīti taṁ vada ||
Śalya memerintah: “Katakanlah kepada Nahuṣa: ‘Wahai Penguasa dunia, datanglah kepadaku dengan menaiki para ṛṣi ilahi sebagai wahana. Jika engkau berbuat demikian, aku akan dengan senang hati tunduk di bawah kuasamu.’”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds how secrecy and conditional promises can be used to gain power over another, inviting ethical reflection on whether ends justify means and how desire can be manipulated through carefully framed consent.
Śalya directs a woman to approach Nahūṣa privately and deliver a message: she will become pleased and submit to him if he comes to her riding a divine ṛṣi-vehicle, with the instruction that the plan must remain hidden.