Shloka 59
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
वैशम्पायन उवाच एतान्यत्यदभुतान्येव कर्माण्यथ महात्मन:
vaiśampāyana uvāca | etāny atyadbhutāny eva karmāṇy atha mahātmanaḥ, yudhiṣṭhiraṃ dharmanidhiṃ puruhūtam iveśvaraḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : Ô roi Janamejaya ! En entendant des sages ces actes véritablement prodigieux du magnanime Mahādeva, Yudhiṣṭhira, fils de Pāṇḍu — trésor du dharma — fut saisi d’un grand émerveillement. Alors Śrī Kṛṣṇa, le premier des avisés, s’adressa à Yudhiṣṭhira comme le Seigneur Viṣṇu parlerait à Indra, roi des dieux si souvent invoqué, le guidant vers une intelligence plus nette de la juste conduite par l’étonnement, la révérence et le discernement.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical instruction through reverent wonder: Yudhiṣṭhira’s amazement at Śiva’s extraordinary deeds becomes the doorway for Kṛṣṇa’s guidance. It suggests that dharma is best received with humility, attentiveness, and respect for divine exemplars, and that wise counsel should be delivered with the authority and clarity associated with divine instruction.
Vaiśampāyana narrates to King Janamejaya that, after hearing the sages’ account of Mahādeva’s marvelous acts, Yudhiṣṭhira is astonished. At that moment Kṛṣṇa—described as foremost among the wise—begins speaking to Yudhiṣṭhira, likened to the way Viṣṇu would address Indra.