Shloka 46
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
युधिष्ठिर महायोगी वीर्यवानक्षयोडव्यय: । 'सावर्णिक मन्वन्तरके समय जो सृष्टि होगी
Māṇḍavya uvāca—acauras tvaṁ caurasaṅkāyāṁ śūle bhinno hāhaṁ tadā.
Dijo Māṇḍavya: «Oh rey, aunque yo no era ladrón, fui empalado en una estaca solo por sospecha de robo. Desde aquel mismo lugar alabé a Mahādeva (Śiva). Entonces él me dijo: “Oh el mejor de los brāhmaṇas, serás liberado de la estaca y vivirás diez koṭis de años. Aunque esta estaca haya atravesado tu cuerpo, no sentirás dolor; quedarás libre de aflicción mental y de enfermedad corporal.”»
माण्डव्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical danger of punishing on mere suspicion and the endurance of an innocent ascetic who turns suffering into devotion; it also presents divine grace as a response to steadfast praise and purity, granting freedom from pain and affliction.
Māṇḍavya recounts to Yudhiṣṭhira that he was wrongly impaled as a suspected thief; while on the stake he praised Śiva, who then promised his release, extraordinary longevity, and freedom from pain, disease, and mental distress.