Shloka 5
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
चारुशीर्षस्तत: प्राह शक्रस्य दयित: सखा | आलनम्बायन इत्येवं विश्रुतटः करुणात्मक:,तदनन्तर इन्द्रके प्रिय सखा आलम्बगोत्रीय चारुशीर्षने जो आलम्बायन नामसे ही प्रसिद्ध तथा परम दयालु हैं, इस प्रकार कहा--
cāruśīrṣas tataḥ prāha śakrasya dayitaḥ sakhā | ālanambāyana ity evaṁ viśrutaḥ karuṇātmakaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Dann erhob Cāruśīrṣa das Wort — Indras geliebter Freund, bekannt unter dem Namen Ālanambāyana, ein Mann von durch und durch mitfühlender Natur. So wandte er sich der Sache zu und gab der Rede einen Ton von Güte und sittlicher Sorge.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds compassion (karuṇā) as a defining virtue: the speaker introduced is explicitly characterized as compassionate, implying that ethical counsel and right conduct are best conveyed through kindness and concern for others.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana transitions to a new speaker: Cāruśīrṣa, identified as Indra’s dear friend and famed as Ālanambāyana, who is described as compassionate. The verse functions as an introduction before his speech.