Everything was disrupted and stopped in the three worlds when Indra, having left his kingdom, was in exile, atonement for his great sin. The flow of the rivers was interrupted; the lakes dried up; the rains did not fall on the ground, and the forests began to die. Fear and confusion shackled the souls of the gods and holy sages, left without a king and lord, but none of them dared to take Indra’s place on the heavenly throne.
At that time, King Nahusha from the Lunar clan, the son of Ayus, the grandson of Pururavas, ruled the earth. He became famous for his courage, virtue and beauty, and the inhabitants of heaven, with the consent of the great Brahma, decided to call him to the throne of Indra. The gods and holy ascetics came to him and said: “O king of the earth, be our master.” “But I cannot be your master, O celestials,” the grandson of Pururavasa objected to them in confusion. “I am too weak for this.” I do not have the strength that Indra possessed, and I cannot serve you as a reliable support and protection.” But the gods and sages did not give up on him. “You should not be afraid, O king of kings! - they told him. - Become our ruler, and our power will be your support. And anyone to whom you turn your gaze, be it a god, or an asura, or a gandharva, or a brahmana, will give you his power. From now on, you just have to look at someone, and his power will pass to you - accept this gift from us. Leave doubts, O Nahusha, son of Ayus, and, following the righteous path, ascend to the heavenly throne of Indra! And Nahusha agreed.
When Nahusha ruled the earth, he curbed his passions, strengthened his soul with good deeds, and worshiped the gods with great humility. But, having become the ruler of heaven and having received from the gods a wonderful gift of power, he was filled with arrogance, forgot about piety and increasingly began to lean body and soul towards base pleasures and amusements. He surrounded himself with heavenly beauties apsaras and crafty gandharvas, who delighted his ears with heavenly music, and with them he had fun day and night in the flowering grove of Nandana. Accompanied by apsaras and gandharvas, he descended from heaven to the great Mount Meru, towering above the world of mortals, wandered through the mountain peaks of the Himalaya, moving from one to another, and then descended to the banks of earthly rivers and to the waters of the ocean and everywhere indulged in idle joys and pleasures.
But one day Nahusha saw Shachi, the beautiful wife of Indra, and a sinful passion took possession of him. “Why does Goddess Shachi pass by us without showing due respect and love for her master? - Nahusha asked those close to him. “Am I not the ruler of the heavenly kingdom?” Shouldn't she honor me as she did Indra before? May the beautiful Shachi hasten to visit me in my palace!”
Hearing about Nahusha's command, Shachi, in fear and despair, resorted to Brihaspati, the wise mentor of the gods. “Protect me, O Brahmana,” she appealed to him, “help me remain faithful to my husband. Only with you can I hide from Nahusha. You once told me that I was not destined to become a widow. Let these words of yours not turn out to be false.”
“Everything I said is true,” Brihaspati answered her. - O goddess, be calm and do not be afraid of Nahusha, who has lost his virtue. Soon I will connect you with Indra.”
And he left Shachi in his house and took her under his protection.
When Nahusha heard that Brihaspati had sheltered Shachi in his house, he became furious. The celestials tried in vain to calm him down. “O lord of heaven,” they told him, “do not allow anger to master you. The universe is shaking from your rage. Calm down and think that Shachi is not your wife. Leave sinful thoughts and do not lust after another man’s wife. After all, you are the king of the gods and you yourself must instruct your subjects, not allowing them to stray from the righteous path.” But Nahusha, overcome with passion, did not want to listen to their admonitions. “Indra himself is not without sin,” he objected to the celestials. - The killer of the priest, he is hiding from well-deserved punishment outside the world of the gods and will never return to his wife. May the beautiful Shachi give me the desired joy. This will be good for both her and you. And henceforth beware of contradicting my will!”
And the celestials fell silent and bowed to his will and promised to immediately bring Shachi to him. With drooping words, with sadness in their hearts, they came to Brihaspati and said: “O great brahmana, we know that Indra’s wife has taken refuge in your house. But we ask you, great wise one: send her to Nahusha. Nahusha is our lord, and now he has surpassed Indra in strength. May the beautiful goddess recognize him as her lord and husband.”
Shachi cried bitterly when she heard these words of the gods and holy ascetics, and, bursting into tears, she said to Brihaspati: “You know, O teacher of the gods, that I do not want to be Nahusha’s wife. I put myself under your protection. Are you going to break your word?
Then the wise Brihaspati, skilled in speech, said to the gods and ascetics: “It was said by the almighty Brahma: whoever betrays those who seek his protection will face great troubles. I will never break my word or break the law of virtue. The one who betrays the one who sought protection will not have happy days. The seeds thrown into the ground will not sprout, the rains will bypass his fields, and he will not have a harvest; the gods will reject his offerings, his descendants will die out, and his ancestors will quarrel among themselves in the kingdom of the dead. And therefore, oh gods, I will not give Nahusha the husband of Indra. Think for yourself what else can be done for the good of Shachi and our good.”
But the gods were unable to come up with anything, and then Brihaspati said: “Let the beautiful-eyed goddess ask Nahusha, for his own good, to give her time to get used to the idea of a new marriage and tune her soul to it. And time, O wise gods, will then erect other barriers before Nahusha.” And the gods approved of Brihaspati's speech. “Be prudent, goddess,” they said to Indra’s wife. “Follow Brihaspati’s advice. Go now to Nahusha and ask him for time to prepare for a new marriage. He is wicked and voluptuous, but the end of his power is near, and soon Indra will regain his kingdom.”
And the bashful Shachi, prompted by the celestials, went to Nahusha. Seeing the brilliant goddess in front of him, Nahusha was delighted and addressed her with affectionate speeches, praising her beauty. “Accept me as your husband, O lovely one,” he said to Shachi. “After all, now I am Indra in all three worlds.” Nahusha's words, filled with sinful lust, terrified the chaste goddess, and she trembled with fear, like a blade of grass in the wind. She humbly folded her palms and, bowing low before Nahusha, said: “O lord of the gods, I ask you only for a little time. If there is no news from Indra soon, I will come to you, I am telling you the truth.”
Shachi's words instilled joy and hope in Nahusha's soul. “Let it be as you want,” he said to Indra’s wife. “But remember, I am waiting for you and believe that you will not deceive me.” He released Shachi, and she hurried to take refuge in Brihaspati's house again.
Then the gods, glad that Nahusha’s anger had subsided at least for a while, went to Vishnu for advice. “O great one,” they told him, “you are our refuge, in you is our salvation. Tell us what needs to be done to cleanse Indra from sin? Vishnu replied: “Let him sacrifice a horse to me. Then I myself will remove the sin from him, and he will be able to regain power in the kingdom of heaven.”
The gods went to the edge of the universe, found Indra and performed a horse sacrifice with him, and Vishnu absolved him of the sin of killing a brahman. But great fear still possessed Indra. He feared the power of Nahushi. And he hid again in his lake so that no one would see him.
When Shachi learned from the distressed gods that her husband had disappeared again, she began to pray that her purity and righteousness would protect her from Nahusha and help her remain faithful to Indra. Late in the evening, Indra's sorrowful wife came out of her hiding place and prayed to the goddess of the night. “O Night, O prophetic goddess of divination! Tell me the secret, show me where to look for a spouse!”
Then Night, the goddess of predictions, touched by the grief of the virtuous Shachi, appeared before her in the guise of a young and beautiful maiden and said: “Follow me, O Shachi, faithful to your husband. I will show you where the great conqueror of Vritra is hiding.” Shachi followed her, and they passed first through the heavenly groves, and then rose above the mountain peaks of the Himalayas and headed north. Far in the far north, they reached a large island lying in the middle of an immense sea, and on that island, among flowering forests and meadows, there was a beautiful lake covered with white lotuses. The goddess of predictions entered with Shachi into the stem of one of the lotuses and showed her Indra, hiding between its fibers.
Delighted to meet her beloved husband, Shachi fell at his feet. She told him about the outrages of Nahusha, who had seized power in the heavenly kingdom, and how he was pursuing her with his harassment and inducing her to break fidelity to her husband. And she asked Indra to return, protect her and punish Nahusha, who had lost his virtue. But Indra told her that he could not defeat Nahusha now - the gods had given him too much power. “Only by cunning can you defeat the son of Ayus,” Indra said to his wife. “You must return and tell him that you agree to love him as a husband: but set him this condition: let him come for you to the house of Brihaspati in a chariot, in which instead of horses he will harness the holy ascetics who have found an abode in heaven for their great righteousness.” And Shachi, promising Indra to do everything as he commanded her, returned to the heavenly kingdom.
When the time allotted to her had expired, Shachi came to Nahusha and said that Indra had disappeared and was not sending news about himself, and therefore she was ready to yield to the desires of the heavenly lord. And Nahusha, delighted by her words, promised her to fulfill whatever she asked. Then Shachi told him: “You are great and powerful, sir, and there is no one in the world who could compete with you. Everyone in the universe is subject to you - gods, people, and every creature. Everyone on whom your gaze falls gives you his power, and he himself becomes powerless. So come for me to the house of Brihaspati in all the splendor of your power, and let your departure eclipse the greatness of Vishnu and Shiva - harness the heavenly sages-brahmins to your chariot and on that chariot take me to your palaces!
“I obey your will, O beautiful Shachi,” the lover Nahusha answered her, “and I like your desire. Truly; the world has never seen such a departure. Not everyone can harness righteous ascetics to their chariot. But my power is limitless: I rule over the past, present and future; the universe rests on my strength, and my anger brings destruction to the world. Be calm, I will fulfill your desire, oh goddess! The seven holy sages will take me to your chambers, and you will see the greatness and splendor of the ruler of the universe!” With these words, Nahusha, intoxicated with pride, the willful and vicious ruler, released Shachi so that she could await his arrival in the house of the mentor of the gods.
Shachi returned to Brihaspati and told him about her agreement with Nahusha. “I have little time left,” she said to the son of Angiras. “Soon the lord of heaven will appear here on a chariot drawn by sages.” But Brihaspati consoled her and promised to immediately begin searching for Indra. Oi lit a sacrificial fire on the altar and sent the god Agni for Indra. Obeying the divine priest, Agni turned into a woman of wonderful beauty and immediately disappeared. Quick as a thought, he rushed everywhere, searched heaven and earth, forests and mountains and, returning a moment later, told Brihaspati that he had searched everywhere, but could not find Indra anywhere - only he did not look for him in the waters, for since the time he himself had been hiding in them, he did not dare to enter the waters. Brihaspati objected to him: “You, O Agni, are the mouth of the gods, you offer sacred sacrifices to them. Brahmins worship you, glorify your deeds, and offer sacrifices to you. You, like truth, penetrate into the depths of the soul of all creatures. There is nothing in the world that is a secret to you. So enter the waters without fear and find out where Indra is hiding!”
Prompted by the words of Brihaspati, Agni then passed through all the waters of the world, searched all the seas and rivers, ponds and lakes and finally found the refuge of Indra. The gods, led by Brihaspati, went to Indra and begged him to return, reminding him of his exploits and victories in battles with the asuras. Following Brihaspati, Varuna, the lord of the waters, and Soma, the moon god, and the son of the Sun, Yama, and other gods called to him. And then the conqueror of Vala and Vritra came out of his hiding place and, assuming his former formidable appearance as the lord of lightning, said that he agreed to fight Nahusha if the gods helped him with their strength. The gods promised him their help, and they all began to think about how they could defeat Nahusha and overthrow him from the heavenly throne. But while they were consulting among themselves, the great sage Agastya, the son of Urvashi, appeared to them from heaven and told them that the arrogant Nahusha had already been overthrown from the throne of Indra and peace had reigned in the beautiful abode of the 6ogs. And Agastya told the rejoicing gods how it happened.
“When Nahusha,” Agastya began to tell, “was choosing righteous brahmanas to harness them to his chariot, the wise Bhrigu, so that Nahusha would not see him, hid on the crown of my head under my hair. Together with me, Nahusha harnessed six more ascetics, famous for their wisdom and virtue, to the chariot. On the way to Brihaspati's house, where he was going to pick up Indra's wife, Nahusha got into an argument with the sages who were pulling his chariot. The discussion was about how to correctly pronounce the hymns of the Veda. The sages did not yield to Nahusha in the dispute and convicted him of ignorance, and then the enraged lord of heaven, proudly sitting on his chariot, kicked me in the crown and, without knowing it, struck the son of Brahma, the noble Bhrigu. The sage, invisible to Nahusha, was offended by that blow and cursed him. “For all your sins and outrages, for violence against Brahmins and persecution of another man’s wife,” he said, “you are wasting your strength, O Nahusha, and the gift of the gods will henceforth be useless for you. You are no longer worthy of the heavenly throne and therefore you will be cast down from heaven to earth. There, on earth, you will turn into a huge snake; and you will crawl on the earth for a thousand years in search of food, until your descendant Yudhishthira, the king from the Moon family, frees you from the curse.” So said the great sage, and Nahusha was powerless against his curse, for his gaze did not then fall on Bhrigu. By the power of that curse, the son of Ayus, trembling with fear and having lost his pride, was thrown from heaven to earth in the blink of an eye and turned there into a huge snake.” Thus Agastya finished his story, and the joyful gods, together with Indra, returned to their abode.
At the command of Brahma, Indra once again offered a cleansing sacrifice on horseback, and Brahma and Vishnu forever removed from him the terrible sin of killing the priest and divided his clothes with fire, trees, apsaras and waters. Agni took upon himself a fourth of Indra’s sin, but said to Brahma: For the good of our king, at your command, I take upon myself this burden, but let there be a limit to it.” Brahma said: “Do not worry, this sin will only weigh on you for the time being. If someone, darkened in mind, forgets to make a sacrifice to you, O Agni, at the appointed time, the sin will immediately transfer to him.” And to the trees he said: “Whoever, out of ignorance, decides to cut you down on the day of the new moon or on the full moon, will accept from you this sin, which I now impose on you.” He promised the Apsaras that the sin would be transferred from them to men who encroached on a woman during her menstruation; the one who does not honor the waters and throws sewage into them will, according to the word of Brahma, accept the sin that he placed on the waters. And everything came true according to Brahma’s plans. And the husband Shachi, freed from sin, reigned again on the heavenly throne.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru