Nahusha

Nahusha / नहुष

Nahusha was a king of the lunar dynasty, son of Ayu by his wife Indumati.
Nahusha was married to Ashoksundari, and had by her six sons, viz. Yati, Yayati, Sanyati, Ayati, Ayati and Dhruv.
After Indra had killed Vritra, he hid himself in a lotus stem, to obtain absolution for killing a Brahman. The gods therefore, temporarily installed Nahusha as king of Devlok, to replace Indra.
Nahusha grew arrogant of his power, and started to misuse it. He began to make advances towards Shachi, wife of Indra.
The gods begged him to refrain but he paid no heed to it. Shachi finally sought the help of Brihaspati, the preceptor of the gods.
They formed a plan, and Shachi went to Nahusha saying that she would accept him if he came to her palace the following day in a palanquin borne by the eminent sages.
Nahusha was delighted at the proposal, and great preparations were made. A beautiful palanquin was made, and celebrated sages, such as Agastya, etc. were employed as the palanquin bearers.
The following day, the procession proceeded towards Shachi's palace. In his haste to reach the palace, Nahusha continuously prodded the sages to move faster.
His impatience got the better of him and he used his whip on the sage Agastya, upon which the latter lost his temper and cursed the king to become a snake.
Relenting to his entreaties, Agastya said he would be liberated from the curse when he met the Pandav prince Yudhishthir.
Nahusha immediately turned into a snake and fell down to earth. Years later, when the Pandavs were in the forest in exile, they met Nahusha in the form of a snake, and on seeing Yudhishthir, the former retained his original form and attained heaven.

Nahusha

Nahusha / नहुष

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