Shloka 46
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
युधिष्ठिर महायोगी वीर्यवानक्षयोडव्यय: । 'सावर्णिक मन्वन्तरके समय जो सृष्टि होगी
Māṇḍavya uvāca—acauras tvaṁ caurasaṅkāyāṁ śūle bhinno hāhaṁ tadā.
マーンダヴィヤは言った。「王よ、わたしは盗人ではなかったのに、盗みの疑いだけで杭に串刺しにされた。その場からわたしはマハーデーヴァ（シヴァ）を讃嘆した。すると彼はわたしに告げた。『婆羅門のうち最勝の者よ、汝は杭より解き放たれ、十コーティの歳月を生きるであろう。この杭が汝の身を貫いていても、痛みを覚えることはない。心の悩みと身の病とから解脱するであろう。』」
माण्डव्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical danger of punishing on mere suspicion and the endurance of an innocent ascetic who turns suffering into devotion; it also presents divine grace as a response to steadfast praise and purity, granting freedom from pain and affliction.
Māṇḍavya recounts to Yudhiṣṭhira that he was wrongly impaled as a suspected thief; while on the stake he praised Śiva, who then promised his release, extraordinary longevity, and freedom from pain, disease, and mental distress.