Shloka 49
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
पादाच्चतुर्थात् सम्भूत आत्मा यस्मान्मुने तव । त्वं भविष्यस्यनुपमो जन्म वै सफल॑ कुरु,“मुने! तुम्हारा यह शरीर धर्मके चौथे पाद सत्यसे उत्पन्न हुआ है। अतः तुम अनुपम सत्यवादी होओगे। जाओ, अपना जन्म सफल करो
pādāc caturthāt sambhūta ātmā yasmān mune tava | tvaṃ bhaviṣyasy anupamo janma vai saphalaṃ kuru ||
Māṇḍavya dit : «Ô sage, puisque ton être même est né du quatrième pied du Dharma — la Vérité — tu seras sans égal dans la véracité. Va, et rends ta naissance pleinement féconde.»
माण्डव्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truth (satya) is presented as a foundational ‘pāda’ (pillar/quarter) of Dharma; one whose nature is rooted in satya should embody unwavering truthfulness and thereby make life meaningful through ethical integrity.
Māṇḍavya addresses a sage, praising his origin/nature as arising from the ‘fourth pāda’ of Dharma identified with Truth, and urges him to live out that destiny—becoming incomparable in truthfulness and fulfilling the purpose of his birth.