Shloka 20
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
वरिष्ठो नाम भगवांश्षाक्षुषस्प मनो: सुतः । शतक्रतोरचिन्त्यस्य सत्रे वर्षमहस्त्रिके
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
variṣṭho nāma bhagavān cākṣuṣasya manoḥ sutaḥ |
śatakrator acintyasya satre varṣa-sahasrike ||
قال فايشَمبايانا: كان هناك كائنٌ جليل يُدعى فَرِشْتَه، وهو ابنُ مانو تشاكشوشا. وفي مجلسِ القربان الذي دام ألفَ عامٍ لِشَتَكْرَتُو (إندرا) ذي القدرة التي لا تُدرَك، وُضِعَت هذه الحكاية.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic setting where Vedic ritual authority and lineage matter: a revered figure (Variṣṭha), rooted in Manu’s line, appears in Indra’s great satra—preparing the ground for instruction on correct sacred performance and disciplined conduct.
Vaiśampāyana introduces Variṣṭha, identified as the son of Cākṣuṣa Manu, and situates the episode at Indra’s extraordinary thousand-year sacrificial session (satra), signaling an ensuing exchange connected with ritual recitation and propriety.