Shloka 63

Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)

Devanagari script

ईश्वरं सम्प्रपद्यन्ते द्विजा भावितभावना: । सर्वथा वर्तमानो5पि यो भक्त: परमेश्वरे

Transliteration

īśvaraṃ samprapadyante dvijā bhāvitabhāvanāḥ | sarvathā vartamāno 'pi yo bhaktaḥ parameśvare

Translation

Vāyu dit : «Les brahmanes dont la discipline intérieure est mûrie prennent refuge en le Seigneur. Et même celui qui vit en quelque condition que ce soit—s’il est un dévot du Seigneur Suprême—doit être tenu pour établi dans le bien le plus élevé.»

Word by Word

• ईश्वरम्: the Lord
• ईश्वरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• सम्प्रपद्यन्ते: resort to / take refuge in
• सम्प्रपद्यन्ते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-प्र-पद्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Ātmanepada

• द्विजाः: twice-born (Brahmins etc.)
• द्विजाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भावितभावनाः: whose minds are cultivated/purified
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भावित-भावना
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सर्वथा: in every way / always
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वथा

• वर्तमानः: being / existing / living
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्तमान
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: even / also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भक्तः: a devotee
• भक्तः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• परमेश्वरे: in the Supreme Lord
• परमेश्वरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम-ईश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वायुदेव (Vāyu)
• ईश्वर/परमेश्वर (Īśvara/Parameśvara)
• द्विज (Dvija—twice-born, especially Brahmins)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True spiritual standing is grounded in taking refuge in the Supreme Lord; cultivated, disciplined persons naturally surrender to Īśvara, and devotion to Parameśvara remains decisive even when one’s external mode of life varies.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu is speaking and highlights a criterion for religious worth: the twice-born who have refined their inner disposition seek the Lord as their refuge, and he underscores the significance of devotion to the Supreme regardless of one’s outward circumstances.