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 ||
“Và cũng trong hôm nay, tên ‘Indra’ hèn hạ ấy—Indra chỉ trên danh nghĩa—sẽ sỉ nhục ngài bằng cách dùng chân đá ngài. Bởi tâm trí hắn đã bị số mệnh đánh gục; kẻ ngu độn ấy đang lao thẳng tới sự diệt vong của chính mình.”
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.