वैशंपायन उवाच
तत्र माहिष्मतीवासी भगवान् हव्यवाहनः ॥
श्रूयते निगृहीतो वै पुरस्तात् पारदारिकः ॥
नीलस्य राज्ञः पूर्वेषाम् उपनीतश् च सो ऽभवत् ॥
तदा ब्राह्मणरूपेण चरमाणो यदृच्छया ॥
तं तु राजा यथाशास्त्रम् अन्वशाद् धार्मिकस् तदा ॥
प्रजज्वाल ततः कोपाद् भगवान् हव्यवाहनः ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
tatra māhiṣmatīvāsī bhagavān havyavāhanaḥ ||
śrūyate nigṛhīto vai purastāt pāradārikaḥ ||
nīlasya rājñaḥ pūrveṣām upanītaś ca so 'bhavat ||
tadā brāhmaṇarūpeṇa caramāṇo yadṛcchayā ||
taṃ tu rājā yathāśāstram anvaśād dhārmikas tadā ||
prajajvāla tataḥ kopād bhagavān havyavāhanaḥ ||
“There, in Mahishmati where he dwells, the Lord Havyavahana, it is heard, was once seized as an adulterer. Wandering then at his own will in the guise of a brahmin, he was brought before the ancestors of King Nila. And the king, being righteous, punished him according to the shastra; then the Lord Havyavahana blazed up in anger”.
67093fc6c550 · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:28:51 PM UTC
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The ancestor of Nila punished the one seized ‘according to the shastra,’ not knowing that before him stood Agni himself in the guise of a brahmin. It is significant that the king’s righteousness lies in impartiality: he judges by the law, making no exception for anyone, and in this lies his rightness, even though the god’s anger flared up. The verse teaches that fidelity to the law is a virtue even where it brings misfortune; and, on the other hand, that divinity comes unrecognized, and each person must be treated as a possible bearer of the Highest. The hidden presence of the Lord in the world demands reverence toward everyone.