Shloka 69
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
महादेवप्रपन्नानां न भयं विद्यते क्वचित् । “केशव! कीट, पतंग, पक्षी तथा पशु भी यदि महादेवजीकी शरणमें आ जाया तो उन्हें भी कहीं किसीका भय नहीं प्राप्त होता है ।।
vāyudeva uvāca | mahādevaprapannānāṁ na bhayaṁ vidyate kvacit | keśava! kīṭa-pataṅga-pakṣī tathā paśavo 'pi yadi mahādevasya śaraṇaṁ prapadyeran, teṣāṁ kvacid api kasyacid bhayaṁ na prāpnoti | evam eva mahādevaṁ ye bhaktā mānavā bhuvi, te saṁsārasyādhīnā na bhavanti—iti me niścitaṁ matam | tadanantaraṁ bhagavān śrīkṛṣṇaḥ svayam api dharmaputraṁ yudhiṣṭhiram uvāca |
Sinabi ni Vāyudeva: “Yaong mga sumilong kay Mahādeva ay walang takot saanman. O Keśava, kahit ang mga insekto, gamu-gamo, mga ibon, at mga hayop, kapag napasailalim sa pag-iingat ni Mahādeva, ay hindi naaabot ng takot mula kaninuman. Gayon din, ang mga tao sa ibabaw ng daigdig na deboto ni Mahādeva ay hindi naaalipin ng pag-iral sa samsara—ito ang aking matibay na paniniwala.” Pagkaraan nito, si Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa mismo ang nagsalita kay Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Surrender to Mahādeva is presented as a source of fearlessness: even the weakest beings are said to become free from fear when under his refuge. For humans, devotion implies not being ruled by saṁsāra—i.e., not being spiritually enslaved by worldly conditions and anxieties.
Vāyudeva addresses Keśava (Kṛṣṇa), praising the protective power of taking refuge in Mahādeva and asserting that Mahādeva’s devotees are not subject to worldly bondage. The passage then transitions: Kṛṣṇa proceeds to speak directly to Yudhiṣṭhira in the ongoing dharma instruction.