Shloka 33

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

Devanagari script

मणिमन्थे<थ शैले वै पुरा सम्पूजितो मया । वर्षायुतसहस्राणां सहस्नं शतमेव च

Transliteration

maṇimanth(e)tha śaile vai purā sampūjito mayā | varṣāyutasahasrāṇāṃ sahasraṃ śatam eva ca ||

Translation

વૈશંપાયન બોલ્યા—પૂર્વકાળે મણિમન્થ નામના પર્વત પર મેં મહાદેવની પૂર્ણ શ્રદ્ધાથી આરાધના કરી હતી. હજારો-હજારો વર્ષો સુધી, તેમજ લાખ વર્ષો સુધી પણ, હું એ ઉપાસનામાં અડગ રહ્યો હતો.

Word by Word

• मणिमन्थे: on (the mountain) Maṇimantha
• मणिमन्थे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणिमन्थ (पर्वत-नाम)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• शैले: on the mountain
• शैले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैल
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• वै: indeed / surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• पुरा: formerly / in olden times
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

• सम्पूजितः: was duly worshipped / honored
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + पूज्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Common, Instrumental, Singular

• वर्षायुतसहस्राणाम्: of thousands of tens-of-thousands of years
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + अयुत + सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• सहस्रम्: a thousand
• सहस्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• एव: only / just / indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Maṇimantha (mountain)
• Śaila (mountain)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical-religious ideal that steadfast devotion and sustained worship (bhakti with tapas) over immense time yields spiritual merit and divine favor; perseverance in reverence is presented as a powerful means of attaining boons and sanctity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates a past episode: on the Maṇimantha mountain he performed complete worship for an extraordinarily long span of years, indicating the intensity and duration of his devotion in the account being related.