Shloka 4
अष्टावक्र-प्रवेशः तथा ब्रह्मोद्य-प्रारम्भः
Aṣṭāvakra’s Entry and the Opening of the Brahmodya
विदेहराजस्य महीपतेस्तौ विप्रावुभी मातुलभागिनेयौ । प्रविश्य यज्ञायतनं विवादे बर्न्दि निजग्राहतुरप्रमेयौ,एक समय वे दोनों मामा-भानजे विदेहराजके यज्ञमण्डपमें गये। दोनों ही ब्राह्मण अनुपम विद्दान् थे। वहाँ शास्त्रार्थ होनेपर उन दोनोंने अपने (विपक्षी) बन्दीको जीत लिया
videharājasya mahīpates tau viprāv ubhau mātulabhāgineyau | praviśya yajñāyatanaṃ vivāde bandīṃ nijagrāhatur aprameyau ||
Lomaśa disse: “Certa vez, aqueles dois brâmanes—tio e sobrinho—entraram no recinto sacrificial do rei de Videha. Ambos eram incomparáveis em erudição. Quando ali surgiu um debate, venceram e subjugaram o seu oponente, Bandin, pelo poder do conhecimento—mostrando que o verdadeiro domínio das escrituras se prova por raciocínio disciplinado, e não pela força.”
लोगमश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that true authority is earned through disciplined learning and reasoned debate; intellectual and ethical superiority is demonstrated by mastery of śāstra and restraint, not by physical coercion.
Lomasha recounts how two exceptionally learned Brahmins—an uncle and his nephew—enter the Videha king’s sacrificial hall and, in a formal disputation, defeat and capture their opponent Bandin.