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 disse: “Ó rei, embora eu não fosse ladrão, fui empalado numa estaca apenas por suspeita de roubo. Dali mesmo louvei Mahādeva (Śiva). Então ele me disse: ‘Ó melhor dos brāhmaṇas, serás libertado da estaca e viverás por dez koṭis de anos. Ainda que esta estaca tenha atravessado teu corpo, não sentirás dor; estarás livre de aflição mental e de doença corporal.’”
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.