Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 25
Dhūpa–Dīpa–Bali Phala Praśna; Nahūṣa–Agastya–Bhṛgu Saṃvāda
Incense, Lamp, and Bali Offerings; the Nahūṣa Dialogue
अद्य चासौ कुदेवेन्द्रस्त्वां पदा धर्षयिष्यति । दैवोपहतचित्तत्वादात्मनाशाय मन्दधी:
adya cāsau kudevendras tvāṃ padā dharṣayiṣyati | daivopahatacittatvād ātmanāśāya mandadhīḥ ||
“At ngayong araw din, ang hamak na ‘Indra’ na iyon—Indra sa pangalan lamang—ay lalapastanganin ka sa pagtadyak sa iyo. Sapagkat ang kanyang isip ay tinamaan ng tadhana; ang mapurol ang pag-iisip ay nagmamadaling tungo sa sariling kapahamakan.”
अगस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arrogance and misuse of power lead to ethical collapse: when one becomes ‘Indra’ only in name and violates the dignity of the righteous, that very adharma becomes the cause of one’s downfall. The verse also highlights how a mind clouded (whether by fate, delusion, or moral blindness) rushes toward self-destruction.
Agastya warns that the unworthy ruler occupying Indra’s position—Nahusha in the surrounding episode—will, driven by a fate-stricken and deluded mind, commit a grave insult by striking the addressed person with his foot, an act that precipitates his ruin.