Shloka 28
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
अनुग्रहानेवमेष करोति भगवान् विभु: । परं धाता विधाता च सुखदु:खे च सर्वदा
anugrahāṇevam eṣa karoti bhagavān vibhuḥ | paraṃ dhātā vidhātā ca sukhaduḥkhe ca sarvadā ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Demikianlah Tuhan Yang Maha Meliputi lagi berdaulat, Śaṅkara, menurunkan rahmat kepada semua makhluk. Dialah penyokong dan penentu yang tertinggi, dan Dialah yang sentiasa membahagikan kepada makhluk-makhluk bahagian kebahagiaan dan penderitaan mereka.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that Śaṅkara, as the supreme and all-pervading Lord, governs the moral order of the world: he sustains beings and dispenses the fruits experienced as happiness and suffering. This frames human experience within a providential and ethically ordered cosmos, encouraging humility, devotion, and responsibility toward dharma.
Vaiśampāyana continues a laudatory explanation of Śaṅkara’s role, emphasizing his gracious oversight of all beings. The statement functions as theological grounding within the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction, presenting Śiva as sustainer and ordainer of worldly outcomes.