Shloka 18

Nahuṣa Abhiṣeka and the Crisis of Restraint (नहुषाभिषेकः—दमभ्रंशः)

Devanagari script

इन्द्रस्य महिषी देवी कस्मान्मां नोपतिष्ठति । अहमिन्द्रोडस्मि देवानां लोकानां च तथेश्वर:

Transliteration

indrasya mahiṣī devī kasmān māṁ nopatiṣṭhati | aham indro 'smi devānāṁ lokānāṁ ca tatheśvaraḥ ||

Translation

Śalya nói: “Vì sao vị hoàng hậu thần thánh của Indra lại không đến hầu ta? Bởi ta là Indra giữa chư thiên, và cũng là chúa tể của các thế giới.”

Word by Word

• इन्द्रस्य: of Indra
• इन्द्रस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• महिषी: queen, chief consort
• महिषी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महिषी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• देवी: goddess
• देवी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• कस्मात्: why? for what reason?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम्
• Form: Interrogative adverbial use (ablative sense): 'from what cause/why'

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Accusative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• उपतिष्ठति: attends on, waits upon
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-स्था
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• इन्द्रः: Indra
• इन्द्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उ: indeed, surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उ
• Form: Emphatic particle

• अस्मि: am
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Present, 1st, Singular

• देवानाम्: of the gods
• देवानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• लोकानाम्: of the worlds/peoples
• लोकानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• तथा: so, likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• ईश्वरः: lord, ruler
• ईश्वरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śalya
• Indra
• Indra's chief queen (Mahīṣī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical danger of inflated self-regard: claiming supreme status and demanding honor as a right reflects ahaṅkāra (ego), which in dharma literature is a frequent cause of conflict, misjudgment, and downfall.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya speaks in a tone of self-exaltation, comparing himself to Indra and questioning why Indra’s chief queen does not attend him—an utterance that signals heightened pride and a demand for recognition, setting a psychological backdrop for tension and rivalry in the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war atmosphere.