Shloka 6
Nahūṣa’s Fall Explained: Agastya’s Account to Indra (Śalya-narrated)
एतदिच्छामि भगवन् कथ्यमान द्विजोत्तम | परिभ्रष्ट: कथं स्वर्गान्नहुष: पापनिश्चय:
etad icchāmi bhagavan kathyamāna dvijottama | paribhraṣṭaḥ kathaṃ svargān nahuṣaḥ pāpaniścayaḥ ||
“Bạch đấng tôn kính, bậc tối thượng trong hàng Bà-la-môn, con muốn được nghe chính lời ngài thuật lại: vì sao Nahuṣa—đã quyết theo đường tội lỗi—lại sa sút và rơi khỏi cõi trời?”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry: even one who reaches heavenly status can fall when guided by pāpa-niścaya—deliberate resolve toward wrongdoing. It highlights accountability and the fragility of exalted power when dharma is abandoned.
Śalya addresses a Brahmin narrator and requests the detailed account of Nahuṣa’s downfall—specifically, how Nahuṣa, after adopting a sinful intention, was cast down from Svarga.