Shloka 536
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
न तात तरुण दान्तं पिता त्वां पश्यतेडनघ । गालवजीने कहा--राजन! विश्वामित्र मुनिकी आज्ञा पाकर मैं अपने पिताजीका दर्शन करनेके लिये घरपर आया। उस समय मेरी माता वैधव्यके दुःखसे दुःखी हो जोर-जोरसे रोती हुई मुझसे बोली--'तात! अनघ! कौशिक मुनिकी आज्ञा लेकर घरपर आये हुए वेदविद्यासे विभूषित तुझ तरुण एवं जितेन्द्रिय पुत्रको तुम्हारे पिता नहीं देख सके'
na tāta taruṇa dāntaṃ pitā tvāṃ paśyate 'nagha |
“Meu filho querido, ó irrepreensível—teu pai não pode ver-te, embora tenhas voltado como um jovem senhor de si, ornado pelo saber védico, após receber a ordem do sábio Kauśika (Viśvāmitra).”
गालव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical tension between unwavering obedience to a guru’s command and the emotional obligations of family life; it also praises self-restraint and Vedic discipline while acknowledging the human cost of such commitments.
Galava reports that, after fulfilling Viśvāmitra’s (Kauśika’s) instruction and returning home, his widowed mother—overcome with sorrow—tells him that his father is no longer able to see him, lamenting the missed reunion.