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.
Sinabi ni Māṇḍavya: “O hari, bagaman hindi ako magnanakaw, ipinako ako sa tulos dahil lamang sa hinala ng pagnanakaw. Mula roon mismo ay pinuri ko si Mahādeva (Śiva). Pagkatapos ay nagsalita siya sa akin: ‘O pinakamainam sa mga brāhmaṇa, makakalaya ka sa tulos at mabubuhay ka nang sampung koṭi na taon. Kahit tumagos sa iyong katawan ang tulos na ito, hindi ka makararamdam ng sakit; malalaya ka sa pighating pang-isip at sa karamdaman ng katawan.’”
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.