Shloka 22
Nahūṣa’s Pride, the Ṛṣi-Borne Palanquin, and the Search for Indra (नहुष-इन्द्राणी-प्रकरणम्)
अब्रह्माण्यो बलोपेतो मत्तो मदबलेन च | कामवृत्त: स दुष्टात्मा वाहयामास तानूषीन्
abrahmāṇyo balopeto matto madabalena ca | kāmavṛttaḥ sa duṣṭātmā vāhayāmāsa tān ṛṣīn |
ਉਹ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣ-ਵਿਰੋਧੀ ਰਾਜਾ ਬਲ ਪਾ ਕੇ ਮੱਤ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ। ਬਲ ਅਤੇ ਮਦ ਦੇ ਅਹੰਕਾਰ ਨਾਲ ਸੜਦਾ, ਕਾਮ-ਵ੍ਰਿੱਤੀ ਵਾਲਾ ਉਹ ਦੁਸ਼ਟ ਆਤਮਾ ਨਹੂਸ਼ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਰਿਸ਼ੀਆਂ ਤੋਂ ਜ਼ਬਰਦਸਤੀ ਢੋਵਾਉਂਦਾ ਰਿਹਾ।
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power without restraint breeds arrogance (mada) and desire-driven conduct (kāma-vṛtti), leading to adharma—especially when one violates the sanctity and social-moral authority of sages and brāhmaṇas. The verse warns that disrespecting the righteous and abusing strength corrupts the self and invites downfall.
Śalya describes Nahūṣa’s moral decline: having gained power, he becomes intoxicated and, in a display of tyranny, forces revered sages to act as his bearers—an act framed as anti-brāhmaṇa and wicked, highlighting his hubris and ethical transgression.