Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
तत्सम्भूता भूतकृतो वरेण्या: सर्वे देवा भुवनस्यास्य गोपा: । आविश्येमां धरणीं ये5भ्यरक्षन् पुरातनीं तस्य देवस्य सृष्टिम्
tat-sambhūtā bhūta-kṛto vareṇyāḥ sarve devā bhuvanasyāsya gopāḥ | āviśyemāṃ dharaṇīṃ ye 'bhyarakṣan purātanīṃ tasya devasya sṛṣṭim ||
ভূতস্ৰষ্টাৰ সেই পৰম বৰৰ পৰা উৎপন্ন, বন্দনীয় আৰু শ্ৰেষ্ঠ সকলো দেৱতা এই জগতৰ ৰক্ষক হ’ল। তেওঁলোকে এই পৃথিৱীত প্ৰৱেশ কৰি সেই দেৱৰ প্ৰাচীন সৃষ্টিক ৰক্ষা কৰিলে আৰু লোক-ব্যৱস্থাক অক্ষুণ্ণ ৰাখিলে।
वायुदेव उवाच
The verse emphasizes that cosmic stability is upheld through divinely sanctioned guardianship: the gods, empowered by the Creator’s boon, protect the Earth and preserve the ancient order of creation—an ethical model for protective responsibility (rakṣaṇa) as a form of dharma.
Vāyudeva describes how the gods, originating through a boon connected with the Creator of beings, entered into the Earth and guarded her—portraying the deities as world-protectors who maintain and defend the primordial creation.