Shloka 4

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

Devanagari script

कपिलभश्न ततः प्राह सांख्यर्षिदेवसम्मत: । मया जन्मान्यनेकानि भकक्‍्त्या चाराधितो भव:

Transliteration

Kapilabhaśna tataḥ prāha sāṅkhyarṣidevasammataḥ | mayā janmāny anekāni bhaktyā cārādhito bhavaḥ ||

Translation

Darauf sprach Kapilabhaśna — von den Sāṅkhya-Weisen geehrt und unter den Göttern hochgeachtet: „In vielen Geburten habe ich dich in Hingabe verehrt und dir gedient; sei nun gnädig und gewähre mir deine Gunst.“

Word by Word

• कपिलः: Kapila
• कपिलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपिल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भष्म: ashes
• भष्म: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भष्म
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• प्राह: said/spoke
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+अह्
• Form: Perfect, Third, Singular

• सांख्यर्षिदेवसम्मतः: approved by the Sāṅkhya sages and the gods
• सांख्यर्षिदेवसम्मतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सांख्य-ऋषि-देव-सम्मत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Instrumental, Singular

• जन्मानि: births (lives)
• जन्मानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• अनेकानि: many
• अनेकानि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनेक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आराधितः: worshipped/propitiated
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+राध्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle (क्त)

• भवः: Bhava (Śiva)
• भवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kapilabhaśna
• Bhava (Śiva)
• Sāṅkhya sages (Sāṅkhyarṣis)
• Devas (gods)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Steady devotion and sincere worship, sustained even across many lifetimes, is presented as a basis for seeking divine grace; spiritual effort is portrayed as cumulative and ethically meaningful.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that Kapilabhaśna addresses Bhava (Śiva), declaring that he has worshipped him devotedly through many births and now petitions for Śiva’s favor.