Shloka 59
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
वैशम्पायन उवाच एतान्यत्यदभुतान्येव कर्माण्यथ महात्मन:
vaiśampāyana uvāca | etāny atyadbhutāny eva karmāṇy atha mahātmanaḥ, yudhiṣṭhiraṃ dharmanidhiṃ puruhūtam iveśvaraḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: Ó rei Janamejaya! Ao ouvir dos sábios esses feitos verdadeiramente extraordinários do magnânimo Mahādeva, Yudhiṣṭhira, filho de Pāṇḍu — tesouro do dharma — ficou tomado de assombro. Então Śrī Kṛṣṇa, o primeiro entre os prudentes, dirigiu-se a Yudhiṣṭhira do mesmo modo como o Senhor Viṣṇu falaria a Indra, o rei dos deuses tantas vezes invocado — guiando-o a uma compreensão mais clara da reta conduta por meio do assombro, da reverência e do discernimento.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical instruction through reverent wonder: Yudhiṣṭhira’s amazement at Śiva’s extraordinary deeds becomes the doorway for Kṛṣṇa’s guidance. It suggests that dharma is best received with humility, attentiveness, and respect for divine exemplars, and that wise counsel should be delivered with the authority and clarity associated with divine instruction.
Vaiśampāyana narrates to King Janamejaya that, after hearing the sages’ account of Mahādeva’s marvelous acts, Yudhiṣṭhira is astonished. At that moment Kṛṣṇa—described as foremost among the wise—begins speaking to Yudhiṣṭhira, likened to the way Viṣṇu would address Indra.