Mahabharata 1.2.175 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 2, Shloka 175
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
नैयायिकानां मुख्येन वरुणस्यात्मजेन च । पराजितो यत्र बन्दी विवादेन महात्मना
naiyāyikānāṁ mukhyena varuṇasyātmajena ca | parājito yatra bandī vivādena mahātmanā ||
Aquí se cuenta que Bandī—jefe entre los Naiyāyikas e hijo de Varuṇa—fue derrotado en debate formal por un sabio de gran alma. El pasaje remite al episodio de la disputación de Aṣṭāvakra en el sacrificio del rey Janaka, donde el saber se prueba no por vanidad, sino para restaurar la justicia: al vencer a Bandī, Aṣṭāvakra rescata a su padre, arrojado al mar, mostrando que la verdadera sabiduría sirve al dharma y a la protección de los inocentes.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Learning and logic are meant to uphold dharma: true scholarship is measured by its commitment to justice and compassion, not by pride in victory. Aṣṭāvakra’s triumph in debate becomes an act of restoration—freeing the wronged and correcting abuse of intellectual power.
The text alludes to the episode where Bandī, a renowned logician and Varuṇa’s son, is defeated in disputation by the great sage Aṣṭāvakra at Janaka’s sacrifice. After defeating Bandī, Aṣṭāvakra is able to recover his father, who had been cast into the sea.
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