Shloka 32
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
एवं सहस्नशश्नान्यान् महादेवो वरं ददौ,“इस तरह महादेवजीने मुझे और भी सहस्रों वर दिये। पूर्वकालमें अन्य अवतारोंके समय मणिमन्थ पर्वतपर मैंने लाखों-करोड़ों वर्षोतक भगवान् शंकरकी आराधना की थी
evaṁ sahasraśaś cānyān mahādevo varaṁ dadau | itthaṁ mahādevena me bahūni sahasrāṇi varāṇi dattāni | pūrvakāle ’nyāvatāreṣu maṇimantha-parvate mayā lakṣa-koṭi-varṣāṇi bhagavataḥ śaṅkarasyārādhanā kṛtā ||
Sa gayon, ipinagkaloob ni Mahādeva sa akin ang isang biyaya, at gayundin ang marami pang biyaya—hanggang sa libo-libo. Noong unang panahon, sa iba pang mga yugto ng pagkapanganak-muli, sinamba ko si Śaṅkara sa Bundok Maṇimantha sa loob ng daan-daang libong taon, at maging ng mga koro-korong taon.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Long, steadfast worship (ārādhanā) and austerity bear fruit over vast spans of time; divine grace is portrayed as responding to sustained devotion, not merely momentary effort.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Mahādeva (Śiva) granted the speaker thousands of boons, explaining that these rewards arise from the speaker’s immense, long-continued worship of Śaṅkara on Mount Maṇimantha in earlier ages and incarnational periods.