Shloka 176
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
विजित्य सागर प्राप्तं पितरं लब्धवानृषि: । यवक्रीतस्य चाख्यानं रैभ्यस्य च महात्मन: । गन्धमादनयात्रा च वासो नारायणाश्रमे,इसी पर्वमें अष्टावक्रका चरित्र भी है। जिसमें बन्दीके साथ जनकके यज्ञमें ब्रह्मर्षि अष्टावक्रके शास्त्रार्थका वर्णन है। वह बन्दी वरुणका पुत्र था और नैयायिकोंमें प्रधान था। उसे महात्मा अष्टावक्रने वाद-विवादमें पराजित कर दिया। महर्षि अष्टावक्रने बन्दीको हराकर समुद्रमें डाले हुए अपने पिताको प्राप्त कर लिया। इसके बाद यवक्रीत और महात्मा रैभ्यका उपाख्यान है। तदनन्तर पाण्डवोंकी गन्धमादनयात्रा और नारायणाश्रममें निवासका वर्णन है
rāma uvāca | vijitya sāgara-prāptaṃ pitaraṃ labdhavān ṛṣiḥ | yavakrītasya cākhyānaṃ raibhyasya ca mahātmanaḥ | gandhamādana-yātrā ca vāso nārāyaṇāśrame | asmin parvaṇi aṣṭāvakrasya caritraṃ api asti | yatra bandinā saha janakasya yajñe brahmarṣi-aṣṭāvakrasya śāstrārthasya varṇanaṃ asti | sa bandī varuṇasya putraḥ āsīt, naiyāyikānāṃ ca pradhānaḥ | taṃ mahātmā aṣṭāvakraḥ vāda-vivāde parājitavān | maharṣi-aṣṭāvakraḥ bandinaṃ jitvā samudre nikṣiptaṃ svapitaraṃ prāptavān | tataḥ yavakrīta-raibhya-upākhyānaṃ | tadanantaraṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ gandhamādana-yātrā nārāyaṇāśrame ca nivāsa-varṇanam |
Rama said: “Having conquered (his opponent), the sage recovered his father who had been taken to the ocean. Then comes the account of Yavakrīta and the great-souled Raibhya; and thereafter the journey to Gandhamādana and the residence in Nārāyaṇa’s hermitage. In this very section is also the story of Aṣṭāvakra: at King Janaka’s sacrifice he engages in a formal debate with Bandī—Varuṇa’s son and foremost among logicians—and defeats him. By overcoming Bandī, Aṣṭāvakra regains his father who had been cast into the sea. The passage thus highlights the ethical force of true learning: knowledge is not for pride, but for restoring justice, rescuing the afflicted, and re-establishing dharma through disciplined speech and right conduct.”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames learning and debate as instruments of dharma: true scholarship is validated by humility, disciplined speech, and its capacity to restore justice—here symbolized by Aṣṭāvakra’s victory leading to the recovery of his father—rather than by mere intellectual dominance.
It summarizes a sequence of episodes: Aṣṭāvakra defeats Bandī at Janaka’s sacrifice and thereby recovers his father who had been cast into the sea; then follow the stories of Yavakrīta and the sage Raibhya; and later the Pāṇḍavas’ journey to Gandhamādana and their stay at Nārāyaṇa’s hermitage.