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.
Māṇḍavya berkata: “Wahai raja, meskipun aku bukan pencuri, aku dipacak pada pancang hanya kerana disyaki mencuri. Dari tempat itu juga aku memuji Mahādeva (Śiva). Lalu baginda bertitah kepadaku: ‘Wahai yang terbaik antara para brāhmaṇa, engkau akan dibebaskan daripada pancang itu dan engkau akan hidup selama sepuluh koṭi tahun. Walaupun pancang ini telah menembusi tubuhmu, engkau tidak akan merasa sakit; engkau akan bebas daripada derita batin dan penyakit jasmani.’”
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.