Shloka 57
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
अपश्य॑ पितरं तात इष्टिं कृत्वा विनि:सृतम् । उपस्पृश्य गृहीत्वेध्मं कुशांश्ष शरणाकुरून्
apaśyaṁ pitaraṁ tāta iṣṭiṁ kṛtvā viniḥsṛtam | upaspṛśya gṛhītvendhmaṁ kuśāṁś ca śaraṇākurūn, tāta yudhiṣṭhira |
Sinabi ni Gālava: “O mahal na kaibigan, matapos maisagawa ang handog, nakita ko ang aking ama na lumalabas mula sa pook ng yajña. Pagkaraang gawin ang paglilinis sa pamamagitan ng pag-inom ng banal na tubig, kinuha niya ang mga panggatong na samidhā at damong kuśa, kasama ang iba pang kailangan sa ritwal. O Yudhiṣṭhira, nakita ko siya nang gayon—kagagaling sa yajña—kumikilos sa payak ngunit disiplinadong anyo ng buhay na nakaayos ayon sa dharma.”
गालव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharmic discipline expressed through ritual purity and simplicity: after sacrifice, one maintains cleanliness (upaspṛśya/ācamana) and handles sacred materials (fuel-sticks, kuśa) with care, reflecting an ordered life rooted in duty and reverence.
Gālava recounts to Yudhiṣṭhira that he saw his father emerging after completing a sacrificial rite, carrying ritual implements such as fuel-sticks and kuśa grass, indicating the immediate post-yajña context and the father’s adherence to prescribed conduct.