Shloka 67
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
यजेद् देवं विरूपाक्षं न स पापेन लिप्यते । “बारंबार तालाबके तटभूमिको खोद-खोदकर उन्हें चौपट कर देनेवाला और इस सारे जगत्को जलती आगमें झोंक देनेवाला पुरुष भी यदि महादेवजीकी आराधना करता है तो वह पापसे लिप्त नहीं होता है ।। सर्वलक्षणहीनो<पि युक्तो वा सर्वपातकैः
yajed devaṃ virūpākṣaṃ na sa pāpena lipyate | sarvalakṣaṇahīno 'pi yukto vā sarvapātakaiḥ ||
Vāyu said: “If a man worships the god Virūpākṣa (Mahādeva/Śiva), he is not tainted by sin. Even one who is devoid of all auspicious marks, or even one burdened with every kind of grievous transgression, does not become stained when he is devoted to the worship of Mahādeva.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the purifying power of devotion to Śiva (Virūpākṣa): sincere worship prevents a person from being ‘stained’ by sin, emphasizing divine grace and the transformative capacity of bhakti even for those burdened with grave faults.
Vāyudeva is speaking and extolling Mahādeva’s worship, asserting that even a person marked by severe wrongdoing or lacking auspicious qualities is not spiritually tainted when devoted to Virūpākṣa.