आयुषो नहुषः पुत्रो धीमान् सत्यपराक्रमः ॥
राज्यं शशास सुमहद् धर्मेण पृथिवीपतिः ॥
पितॄन् देवान् ऋषीन् विप्रान् गन्धर्वोरगराक्षसान् ॥
नहुषः पालयाम् आस ब्रह्मक्षत्रम् अथो विशः ॥
स हत्वा दस्युसंघातान् ऋषीन् करम् अदापयत् ॥
पशुवच् चैव तान् पृष्ठे वाहयाम् आस वीर्यवान् ॥
कारयाम् आस चेन्द्रत्वम् अभिभूय दिवौकसः ॥
तेजसा तपसा चैव विक्रमेणौजसा तथा ॥
यतिं ययातिं संयातिम् आयातिं पाञ्चम् उद्धवम् ॥
नहुषो जनयाम् आस षट् पुत्रान् प्रियवाससि ॥
ययातिर् नाहुषः सम्राड् आसीत् सत्यपराक्रमः ॥
स पालयाम् आस महीम् ईजे च विविधैः सवैः ॥
अतिशक्त्या पितॄन् अर्चन् देवांश् च प्रयतः सदा ॥
अन्वगृह्णात् प्रजाः सर्वा ययातिर् अपराजितः ॥
तस्य पुत्रा महेष्वासाः सर्वैः समुदिता गुणैः ॥
देवयान्यां महाराज शर्मिष्ठायां च जज्ञिरे ॥
देवयान्याम् अजायेतां यदुस् तुर्वसुर् एव च ॥
द्रुह्युश् चानुश् च पूरुश् च शर्मिष्ठायां प्रजज्ञिरे ॥
āyuṣo nahuṣaḥ putro dhīmān satyaparākramaḥ ||
rājyaṃ śaśāsa sumahad dharmeṇa pṛthivīpatiḥ ||
pitṝn devān ṛṣīn viprān gandharvoragarākṣasān ||
nahuṣaḥ pālayām āsa brahmakṣatram atho viśaḥ ||
sa hatvā dasyusaṃghātān ṛṣīn karam adāpayat ||
paśuvac caiva tān pṛṣṭhe vāhayām āsa vīryavān ||
kārayām āsa cendratvam abhibhūya divaukasaḥ ||
tejasā tapasā caiva vikrameṇaujasā tathā ||
yatiṃ yayātiṃ saṃyātim āyātiṃ pāñcam uddhavam ||
nahuṣo janayām āsa ṣaṭ putrān priyavāsasi ||
yayātir nāhuṣaḥ samrāḍ āsīt satyaparākramaḥ ||
sa pālayām āsa mahīm īje ca vividhaiḥ savaiḥ ||
atiśaktyā pitṝn arcan devāṃś ca prayataḥ sadā ||
anvagṛhṇāt prajāḥ sarvā yayātir aparājitaḥ ||
tasya putrā maheṣvāsāḥ sarvaiḥ samuditā guṇaiḥ ||
devayānyāṃ mahārāja śarmiṣṭhāyāṃ ca jajñire ||
devayānyām ajāyetāṃ yadus turvasur eva ca ||
druhyuś cānuś ca pūruś ca śarmiṣṭhāyāṃ prajajñire ||
"The son of Ayus, Nahusha, was wise, his valor grounded in truth; as lord of the earth he ruled a most great kingdom according to dharma. Nahusha protected the ancestors, the gods, the sages, the brahmins, the gandharvas, the serpents, the rakshasas, and likewise the brahmins, kshatriyas, and vaishyas. Mighty, having slain hordes of robbers, he made the sages pay him tribute and rode upon their backs as though they were beasts of burden. By splendor, austerity, valor, and might he overcame the celestials and made them grant him the rank of Indra. Upon Priyavasa, Nahusha begot six sons: Yati, Yayati, Samyati, Ayati, Pancha, and Uddhava. Yayati, son of Nahusha, was a sovereign whose valor was grounded in truth; he protected the earth and performed manifold sacrifices. Unconquered Yayati, honoring the ancestors and the gods beyond his own strength, ever composed, showed grace to all creatures. To him were born mighty archer-sons, endowed with every virtue, O great king -- by Devayani and by Sharmishtha. By Devayani were born Yadu and Turvasu; by Sharmishtha were born Druhyu, Anu, and Puru."
a46d09b55351 · published Jul 12, 2026, 3:37:30 PM UTC
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Here the genealogy approaches Yayati, and the lesson about pride sounds once more. The rise -- and implied fall -- of Nahusha is telling: he ascended so high through austerity and might that he "made the gods grant him the rank of Indra," yet, grown proud, he "rode on the backs of sages as though they were beasts of burden." The theme repeats: like Pururavas, Nahusha shows how accumulated power, even righteously gained, turns into pride and the oppression of the holy; tradition elsewhere tells of Nahusha's downfall for insulting the sage Agastya. The lesson: height is dangerous; the higher one rises, the deeper the fall without humility. But in this chapter the account is focused chiefly on the continuation of the line: Yayati, son of Nahusha, is a righteous sovereign, and he has five sons -- Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu, Anu, and Puru -- from whom great lines will descend, among them the Yadavas from Yadu and the Pauravas from Puru. Thus the genealogy prepares the account of Yayati, the central figure of this section, full of its own lessons about passion, old age, and duty.