Shloka 51
Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
अथ मैत्रावरुणि: कुम्भयोनिरगस्त्य ऋषिवरो महर्षीन् धिकृक्रियमाणांस्तान् नहुषेणापश्यत् पद्धयां च तेनास्पृश्यत ततः स नहुषमब्रवीदकार्यप्रवृत्त पाप पतस्व महीं सर्पो भव यावद्धुमिर्गिरयश्व तिष्ठेयुस्तावदिति स महर्षिवाक्यसमकालमेव तस्माद् यानादवापतत्
atha maitrāvaruṇiḥ kumbhayonir agastya ṛṣivaro maharṣīn dhik-kriyamāṇāṁs tān nahuṣeṇāpaśyat | paddhyāṁ ca tenāspṛśyata | tataḥ sa nahuṣam abravīd: akārya-pravṛtta pāpa, patāsva mahīṁ; sarpo bhava yāvad dhūmir girayaś ca tiṣṭheyuḥ tāvad iti | sa maharṣi-vākya-samakālam eva tasmād yānād avāpatat ||
Then Maitrāvaruṇi—Agastya, the great sage born from the jar—saw that Nahusha was rebuking and driving the assembled seers to move faster, and even struck Agastya’s body with his feet. Agastya then said to Nahusha: “Sinner, engaged in what ought not to be done—fall at once to the earth. Become a serpent, for as long as the earth and the mountains endure.” At the very moment the great sage spoke these words, Nahusha fell down from that conveyance.
तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ
Educational Q&A
Arrogance and misuse of authority—especially contempt toward the wise and the virtuous—destroys legitimacy and invites swift moral consequence. Dharma requires humility, restraint, and reverence for those who embody spiritual discipline.
Nahusha, intoxicated by power, forces the sages to bear his conveyance and insults them, even kicking Agastya. Agastya responds with a curse: Nahusha must fall to earth and live as a serpent for an immense duration; the curse takes effect immediately as Nahusha drops from the vehicle.