Shloka 57
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
अपश्य॑ पितरं तात इष्टिं कृत्वा विनि:सृतम् । उपस्पृश्य गृहीत्वेध्मं कुशांश्ष शरणाकुरून्
apaśyaṁ pitaraṁ tāta iṣṭiṁ kṛtvā viniḥsṛtam | upaspṛśya gṛhītvendhmaṁ kuśāṁś ca śaraṇākurūn, tāta yudhiṣṭhira |
ガーラヴァは言った。「いとしき者よ、供犠（イシュティ）を終えると、私は父が祭所から出て来るのを見た。父は浄めのために水を啜り、供養の薪（サミダー）とクシャ草（kuśa）、そのほか儀礼に要る品々を手に取っていた。ユディシュティラよ、私はそのような父を見た—ヤジュニャを終えたばかりの父が、ダルマに整えられた生のしるしとして、節度ある簡素さのうちに歩むのを。」
गालव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharmic discipline expressed through ritual purity and simplicity: after sacrifice, one maintains cleanliness (upaspṛśya/ācamana) and handles sacred materials (fuel-sticks, kuśa) with care, reflecting an ordered life rooted in duty and reverence.
Gālava recounts to Yudhiṣṭhira that he saw his father emerging after completing a sacrificial rite, carrying ritual implements such as fuel-sticks and kuśa grass, indicating the immediate post-yajña context and the father’s adherence to prescribed conduct.