Shloka 30
Gaṅgā-Tīrtha Darśana and the Prelude to the Yavakrīta–Indra Exemplum (लोमश-युधिष्ठिर संवादः)
अष्टावक्र उवाच नानेन जीवता कक्रिदर्थों मे बन्दिना नूप । पिता यद्यस्य वरुणो मज्जयैनं जलाशये,अष्टावक्र बोले--महाराज! इस बन्दीके जीवित रहनेसे मेरा कोई प्रयोजन नहीं है। यदि इसके पिता वरुणदेव हैं तो उनके पास जानेके लिये इसे निश्चय ही जलाशयमें डुबो दीजिये
aṣṭāvakra uvāca | nānena jīvatā kiṃcid artho me bandinā nṛpa | pitā yady asya varuṇo majjayainaṃ jalāśaye ||
Aṣṭāvakra sprach: „O König, es gibt für mich keinen Grund, Bandin am Leben zu lassen. Wenn sein Vater wahrhaft Varuṇa ist, so sende ihn zu seinem Vater — ja, ertränke ihn im Wasserbecken.“
अष्टावक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a stern notion of accountability: one who has caused harm (here implied through Bandin’s actions) should face fitting consequences; even claims of divine connection (Varuṇa as father) are framed as no exemption, but rather as a reason to return him to that domain.
Aṣṭāvakra addresses the king and declares that Bandin’s continued life serves no purpose for him. He then proposes that if Bandin is truly Varuṇa’s son, he should be sent to Varuṇa by being drowned in a water-reservoir—an explicit call for punishment aligned with the water-deity connection.