Shloka 56

Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)

Devanagari script

भविष्यथ विश क्षिप्रं द्रष्टासि पितरं क्षये । माताकी बात सुनकर मैं पिताके दर्शनसे निराश हो गया और मनको संयममें रखकर महादेवजीकी आराधना करके उनका दर्शन किया। उस समय वे मुझसे बोले--“वत्स! तुम्हारे पिता

Transliteration

bhaviṣyatha viśa kṣipraṃ draṣṭāsi pitaraṃ kṣaye |

Translation

Gālava berkata: “Engkau akan segera melihat ayahmu pada penghujung keputusasaanmu.” Mendengar kata-kata itu, aku menyingkirkan putus asa untuk bertemu ayah, mengekang fikiran, dan memuja Mahādeva hingga memperoleh darśana-Nya. Lalu Tuhan bersabda kepadaku: “Wahai anak, ayahmu, ibumu, dan engkau—ketiga-tiganya—akan bebas daripada maut. Sekarang masuklah ke rumahmu tanpa berlengah; di sana engkau akan memperoleh pandangan ayahmu.” Dengan izin Bhagavān Śiva, aku pulang, melaksanakan yajña, lalu melihat ayahku keluar dari balai korban, membawa kayu api upacara (samidhā), rumput kuśa, serta buah-buahan masak dan persembahan lain yang gugur sendiri dari pepohon.

Word by Word

• भविष्यथ: you all will be / will become
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future), 2, plural, परस्मैपद

• विश: enter
• Type: Verb
• Root: विश् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), 2, singular, परस्मैपद

• क्षिप्रम्: quickly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्षिप्र (प्रातिपदिक)

• द्रष्टासि: you will see
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (periphrastic future), 2, singular, परस्मैपद

• पितरम्: father
• पितरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• क्षये: at the end / in destruction (i.e., at death/end-time)
• क्षये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

Speaker

गालव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Gālava
• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• father of Gālava
• mother of Gālava
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• home (gṛha)
• yajña (sacrifice)
• yajñaśālā (sacrificial hall)
• samidh (fuel-sticks)
• kuśa grass
• ripe fruits
• havya (oblations)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Steadfast devotion and self-restraint in distress invite divine guidance; despair is to be ended through disciplined mind and dharmic action, after which rightful aims—such as reunion and protection of family—are fulfilled by grace.

What is happening in the narrative?

Gālava, having become despondent about seeing his father, worships Śiva (Mahādeva). Śiva appears, promises freedom from death for Gālava and his parents, and instructs him to return home. Gālava obeys, performs a sacrifice, and then sees his father emerging from the sacrificial hall carrying ritual materials and offerings.