Shloka 2
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
पुरा पुत्र मया मेरी तप्यता परमं तप: । पुत्रहेतोर्महाराज स्तव एषो<नुकीर्तित:
purā putra mayā merau tapyatā paramaṃ tapaḥ | putrahetor mahārāja stava eṣo 'nukīrtitaḥ ||
वैशम्पायन बोले— हे पुत्र! हे महाराज! पूर्वकाल में पुत्र-प्राप्ति के हेतु मैंने मेरुपर्वत पर परम तप किया था; उसी समय मैंने इस स्तोत्र का बार-बार पाठ किया था।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the traditional belief that disciplined tapas, supported by devotional recitation (stava), can be directed toward a dharmic life-goal such as obtaining progeny, emphasizing perseverance and sacred speech as spiritually efficacious.
Vaiśampāyana, within the ongoing discourse, introduces a hymn by stating its origin: he once performed severe austerities on Mount Meru to gain a son and repeatedly recited this very stotra at that time.