Nahūṣa’s Pride, the Ṛṣi-Borne Palanquin, and the Search for Indra (नहुष-इन्द्राणी-प्रकरणम्)
न मे क्रुद्धस्य पर्याप्ता: सर्वे लोका: शुचिस्मिते । चक्षुषा यं प्रपश्यामि तस्य तेजो हराम्यहम्,मेरे कुपित होनेपर यह संसार मिट जायगा। मुझपर ही सब कुछ टिका हुआ है। शुचिस्मिते! यदि मैं क्रोधमें भर जाऊँ तो यह देवता, दानव, गन्धर्व, किन्नर, नाग, राक्षस और सम्पूर्ण लोक मेरा सामना नहीं कर सकते हैं। मैं अपनी आँखसे जिसको देख लेता हूँ, उसका तेज हर लेता हूँ
na me kruddhasya paryāptāḥ sarve lokāḥ śucismite | cakṣuṣā yaṁ prapaśyāmi tasya tejo harāmy aham ||
Nahuṣa disse: “Ó tu de sorriso puro, quando me enfureço, todos os mundos juntos não bastam para resistir-me. A quem eu contemplar com os olhos, eu lhe tomo o tejas — o seu resplendor.”
नहुष उवाच
The verse illustrates how unchecked anger and pride claim absolute authority—so extreme that the speaker imagines his wrath overpowering all worlds and draining others’ ‘tejas’. In dharmic ethics, such self-exalting rage is a warning sign: power without restraint becomes destructive and morally unstable.
Nahusha is speaking in a threatening, boastful tone, declaring that when he is angry no one can oppose him and that his very gaze can rob others of their radiance. The statement functions as intimidation and self-aggrandizement within the episode’s dialogue.