Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
मणिमन्थे<थ शैले वै पुरा सम्पूजितो मया । वर्षायुतसहस्राणां सहस्नं शतमेव च
maṇimanth(e)tha śaile vai purā sampūjito mayā | varṣāyutasahasrāṇāṃ sahasraṃ śatam eva ca ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Pada zaman dahulu, di gunung yang bernama Maṇimantha, aku menyembah Mahādeva dengan penghormatan yang sempurna. Selama ribuan kali ratusan ribu tahun juga, aku tetap tekun dan setia dalam pemujaan itu.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse underscores the ethical-religious ideal that steadfast devotion and sustained worship (bhakti with tapas) over immense time yields spiritual merit and divine favor; perseverance in reverence is presented as a powerful means of attaining boons and sanctity.
Vaiśampāyana narrates a past episode: on the Maṇimantha mountain he performed complete worship for an extraordinarily long span of years, indicating the intensity and duration of his devotion in the account being related.