The Bible states in Proverbs 16:18, ‘Pride goes before a fall.’ It is good to have self-confidence, but thinking too highly of oneself can blind one to one’s faults and lead to downfall. The Rigveda contains the story of King Nahusha that illustrates this point.
Indra once killed a demon called Vritra, who was threatening his position. Vritra was a Brahmin. Killing a Brahmin was supposed to be a sin of the highest order, so Indra ran away and hid in the waters. Since there was no one to run the affairs of the three worlds, the rishis and gods appealed to Nahusha, who was the greatest king at the time, to accept Indra’s position. Nahusha agreed. Till that point, he had led a virtuous life, but after taking over as Indra, Nahusha became very arrogant. He began to consider himself superior to everyone. He even demanded that Indrani, Indra’s wife, should now become his wife. The gods cautioned him that his demand was immoral, but he did not listen. Brihaspati, the guru of the devas, advised Indrani to ask Nahusha for some time to ascertain what had become of her husband, Indra.
Indrani went in search of her husband and, with the help of Upashruti, the goddess of night and revealer of secrets, found him hiding in a small form inside the stem of a lotus growing in a lake north of the Himalayas. She told Indra of Nahusha’s demand. Indra replied that he could not do anything directly, as Nahusha had the power to subdue anyone on whom he fixed his eyes. He suggested a scheme that would lead to his downfall. Accordingly, Indrani told Nahusha that she would accept his demand if he came to her, riding on a vehicle carried by rishis.
Nahusha started moving around in a vehicle borne by rishis. Rishi Bhrigu went to Agastya, a renowned rishi, and asked him to hide in the knot of his long hair for the purpose of cursing Nahusha. The rishis, including Agastya, were attached by Nahusha to his vehicle. Agastya did not move even when urged by a goad. Nahusha grew angry and kicked him on the head with his left foot. At this, Bhrigu became enraged and cursed Nahusha: ‘O fool, since you have angrily struck this great Rishi on the head with your foot, you will become a serpent and fall to the earth.’ All this time, Bhrigu remained hidden within the knot of hair, unseen by Nahusha. Thus, Nahusha was unable to subdue him and was transformed into a serpent.
Nahusha was finally released from the curse in the Mahabharata age, when Yudhishthira came to save his brother Bhimasena from the clutches of the serpent Nahusha. He answered Nahusha’s questions and ended his curse. Then Nahusha ascended to heaven.
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