Shloka 8
अणीमाण्डव्य इति च ततो लोकेषु गीयते । स गत्वा सदन विप्रो धर्मस्य परमात्मवित्,अणी कहते हैं शूलके अग्रभागको, उससे युक्त होनेके कारण वे मुनि तभीसे सभी लोकोंमें “अणी-माण्डव्य” कहलाने लगे। एक समय परमात्मतत्त्वके ज्ञाता विप्रवर माण्डव्यने धर्मराजके भवनमें जाकर उन्हें दिव्य आसनपर बैठे देखा। उस समय उन शक्तिशाली महर्षिने उन्हें उलाहना देते हुए पूछा--“मैंने अनजानमें कौन-सा ऐसा पाप किया था, जिसके फलका भोग मुझे इस रूपमें प्राप्त हुआ? मुझे शीघ्र इसका रहस्य बताओ। फिर मेरी तपस्याका बल देखो”
aṇīmāṇḍavya iti ca tato lokeṣu gīyate | sa gatvā sadanaṁ vipro dharmasya paramātmavit |
Thus, from that time onward, he came to be celebrated in the worlds as “Aṇī-Māṇḍavya.” Then the brahmin—Māṇḍavya, a knower of the Supreme Self—went to the abode of Dharma and saw Dharmarāja seated upon a divine throne. With the force of his ascetic power, the great sage reproached him and asked: “What sin did I unknowingly commit, by whose result I have had to undergo suffering in this form? Tell me its secret at once—then behold the power of my austerity.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry into karmic justice: even a realized ascetic questions Dharma about disproportionate or seemingly unintended punishment, highlighting the demand that moral law be transparent, proportionate, and accountable.
Māṇḍavya, now known as Aṇī-Māṇḍavya, goes to Dharma’s abode, sees Dharmarāja enthroned, and confronts him—asking what unknown sin caused his suffering and insisting on an immediate explanation, invoking the power of his austerities.