Shloka 6

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

Devanagari script

मया गोकर्णमासाद्य तपस्तप्त्वा शतं समा: | अयोनिजानां दान्तानां धर्मज्ञानां सुवर्चसाम्‌

Transliteration

mayā gokarṇam āsādya tapas taptvā śataṃ samāḥ | ayonijānāṃ dāntānāṃ dharmajñānāṃ suvarcasām ||

Translation

Wahai putra Pāṇḍu, dahulu aku mencapai tīrtha Gokarṇa dan menjalani tapa selama seratus tahun hingga Śaṅkara berkenan; sebagai buahnya aku memperoleh seratus putra—lahir tanpa rahim, menaklukkan indria, mengetahui dharma, dan bercahaya mulia.

Word by Word

• मया: by me
• मया: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, तृतीया, एकवचन

• गोकर्णम्: Gokarṇa (place/holy spot)
• गोकर्णम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोकर्ण
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• आसाद्य: having reached
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + सद्
• Form: ल्यप् (क्त्वान्त/absolutive), कर्तरि, —

• तपः: austerity, penance
• तपः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तप्त्वा: having performed (austerity)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive), कर्तरि, —

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• समाः: years
• समाः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: समा
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• अयोनिजानाम्: of those not born from a womb (spontaneously born)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अयोनिज
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• दान्तानाम्: of the self-controlled
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दान्त
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• धर्मज्ञानाम्: of the knowers of dharma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्मज्ञ
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• सुवर्चसाम्: of the very radiant/glorious
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुवर्चस्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Gokarṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Long, disciplined tapas undertaken at a sacred place, when aligned with dharma and self-restraint, is portrayed as generating powerful and auspicious results—here symbolized by radiant, dharma-knowing offspring.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana recounts that he went to the tīrtha of Gokarṇa and performed austerities for one hundred years, after which he obtained (or was blessed with) a hundred extraordinary sons characterized as ayonija, self-controlled, and knowledgeable in dharma.