Shloka 47
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
तत्रस्थेन स्तुतो देव: प्राह मां वै नरेश्वर । मोक्ष प्राप्स्यसि शूलाच्च जीविष्यसि समार्बुदम्
tatra-sthena stuto devaḥ prāha māṃ vai nareśvara | mokṣaṃ prāpsyasi śūlāc ca jīviṣyasi samārbudam ||
Māṇḍavya berkata: “Wahai raja, ketika aku berada di sana (terpacak), aku memuji Tuhan. Lalu dewa itu berkata kepadaku: ‘Engkau akan dilepaskan daripada pancang, dan engkau akan hidup selama sepuluh koṭi tahun.’”
माण्डव्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when worldly justice fails and one suffers undeserved punishment, steadfast devotion and inner integrity can become the ground for divine intervention; the episode also raises ethical questions about the limits and errors of human judgment in administering punishment.
The sage Māṇḍavya, speaking to a king, recounts that while he was impaled on a stake he praised the deity; the god then assured him of release from the stake and an extraordinarily long life (ten crores of years).