Shloka 33
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
मणिमन्थे<थ शैले वै पुरा सम्पूजितो मया । वर्षायुतसहस्राणां सहस्नं शतमेव च
maṇimanth(e)tha śaile vai purā sampūjito mayā | varṣāyutasahasrāṇāṃ sahasraṃ śatam eva ca ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Dahulu, di gunung bernama Maṇimantha, aku memuja Mahādeva dengan penghormatan yang sempurna. Selama ribuan demi ribuan tahun—bahkan hingga seratus ribu tahun—aku tetap teguh dalam pemujaan itu.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.