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.
Māṇḍavya dit : « Ô roi, bien que je ne fusse pas un voleur, on m’empala sur un pieu par simple soupçon de vol. De ce lieu même, je louai Mahādeva (Śiva). Alors il me dit : “Ô le meilleur des brāhmaṇas, tu seras délivré du pieu et tu vivras dix koṭis d’années. Bien que ce pieu ait transpercé ton corps, tu ne ressentiras aucune douleur ; tu seras libre des tourments de l’esprit et des maladies du corps.” »
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.