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Shloka 66

Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)

भित्त्वा भित्त्वा च कूलानि हुत्वा सर्वमिदं जगत्‌

bhittvā bhittvā ca kūlāni hutvā sarvam idaṃ jagat

قال فايُو: «يخترق ضفاف الأنهار مرّة بعد مرّة، ويبتلع هذا العالم كلَّه كأنه نارُ قربان.» تُصوِّر هذه العبارة قوّةً لا تُقاوَم—كالسيل الذي يخرق حدوده مرارًا—وتحذّر من أنّ السلطة أو الشهوة إذا تُركت بلا كبح، فما إن تُطلَق حتى تجتاح كلَّ حدّ وتجرّ خرابًا شاملًا؛ ومن ثمّ تُفهم ضمناً فضيلةُ الضبط والنظام وفق الدارما بوصفهما الثِّقلَ الأخلاقيَّ المقابل.

भित्त्वाhaving broken / having split
भित्त्वा:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootभिद् (√भिद्)
Formक्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि
भित्त्वाagain having broken
भित्त्वा:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootभिद् (√भिद्)
Formक्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
कूलानिbanks, shores, embankments
कूलानि:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootकूल
FormNeuter, Accusative, Plural
हुत्वाhaving offered (as oblation), having sacrificed
हुत्वा:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootहु (√हु)
Formक्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि
सर्वम्all, entire
सर्वम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootसर्व
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
इदम्this
इदम्:
Karma
TypePronoun
Rootइदम्
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
जगत्world, universe
जगत्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootजगत्
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular

वायुदेव उवाच

V
Vāyu (Wind-god)
K
kūla (riverbanks/embankments)
J
jagat (the world/universe)

Educational Q&A

The verse uses the imagery of repeatedly breached banks and all-consuming fire to suggest that when force (or desire/anger) exceeds rightful bounds, it becomes universally destructive; dharma is implied as the principle that sets and protects necessary limits.

Vāyu speaks in a vivid, compressed metaphor: something powerful surges beyond embankments again and again and then ‘offers up’ (i.e., consumes) the whole world like fire, underscoring the danger of unchecked, boundary-breaking power.